Louisville Report

Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Duke Blue Devils

The Cardinals return home and host the Blue Devils on the other side of their bye week.

Matthew McGavic

In this story:

No. 20 Duke Blue Devils (5-2, 3-1 ACC) at No. 18 Louisville Cardinals (6-1, 3-1 ACC)

- Kickoff: Saturday, October 28 at 3:30 p.m. EST
- Location: L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
- Weather Conditions: Rain showers in the morning becoming more intermittent in the afternoon. High around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -6.0
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 3-0
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 62-22 on Nov. 18, 2022 (Wallace Wade Stadium - Durham, N.C.)

Game Notes

Louisville

  • The University of Louisville returns to L&N Stadium for the first of three-straight games when it hosts Duke for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 28. ESPN will broadcast the 3:30 p.m. game with Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, and Molly McGrath calling the action. Louisville has won eight consecutive home contests after losing to Florida State on Sept. 16, 2022.
  • Louisville is looking for its first nine-game home winning streak since the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Cards are looking for their second-straight win over opponents ranked in the Associated Press Poll for the first time since defeating West Virginia and Florida in 2011.
  • The Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season on Oct. 14 when Pitt defeated Louisville 38-21 at Acrisure Stadium. The Cardinals Quarterback Jack Plummer threw for 350 yards and a touchdown but tossed two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. Jamari Thrash caught nine passes for 120 yards and Maurice Turner added 81 yards on the ground. The loss halted the Cards’ seven-game winning streak dating back to last season. The defense limited the Panthers to just 288 yards of total offense but were victimized by three Louisville turnovers, which resulted in 14 Pitt points.
  • The Cardinals host the Blue Devils in the annual Homecoming contest. Louisville is 60-36 all-time in homecoming games and are looking for its fifth-straight win in the annual contest. The Cards defeated Pitt 24-10 in last year’s game at L&N Stadium.
  • After playing seven consecutive games to open the season, the Cards enjoyed their first bye week of the season. Louisville is 54-49-1 all-time coming off bye weeks. In his 10 seasons as a head coach, head coach Jeff Brohm is 6-4 when his teams are coming off an open week during his stops at Western Kentucky and Purdue.
  • Plummer threw for 350 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Pitt, the second 300-yard passing game of his Louisville tenure. He has completed a touchdown pass in all seven of his games at Louisville and nine straight games going back to his career at California. The signal caller also passed for 388 yards in a win over Boston College. His 29 completions and 52 attempts are both the most by a Louisville player since Jawon Pass was 30-54 passing vs. Wake Forest in 2018. The Cal transfer leads the ACC and ranks 13th in the nation with a 14.4 per completion average.
  • The Cardinals look to go 7-1 overall for the first time since 2016 when they opened the season at 9-1 before dropping the last three games of the season to finish at 9-4. The Cards are looking for their ninthstraight home win after winning two weeks ago versus Notre Dame.
  • Head coach Jeff Brohm’s teams are 21-15 during his 10-year coaching career when coming off a loss and his teams have dropped two-straight games 10 times in his career. The last time Brohm’s team lost two consecutive games came last season on Oct. 22 and Nov. 5 with losses at Wisconsin and home to Iowa.
  • The Cardinals have been explosive at home this season, averaging 48.3 points per game — scoring over 30 points in three-straight games. The first time scoring over 30 points in three-straight games since 2021. The last time the Cards scored over 30 points in four consecutive home games came in 2020.
  • The offense has certainly clicked at L&N Stadium this season totaling over 400 yards in all three games. The Cards are averaging 534.0 yards of total offense at home and have compiled a 7.9 per play average. Through the air, the Cardinals have averaged 293.0 yards in those three home games.
  • The Louisville defense has been stout this season, allowing just 317.9 yards of offense through seven games. Louisville held Pittsburgh to 288 yards of total offense. The Cards have held three straight opponents under 300 yards of total offense for the first time since 2015.
  • Louisville is holding the opposition to an average of 97.1 yards on the ground this season after limiting Pittsburgh to just 88 yards on 33 carries. The Cards have held five of their seven opponents to less than 100 yards rushing in a game. Louisville has held its last three opponents to under 100 yards for the first time since 2016 when they did it five-straight times.
  • Linebacker T.J. Quinn leads the team with 55 tackles after recording a career best 12 in the loss to Pitt — the third-straight double-digit tackle game. Quinn ranks seventh in the ACC
  • After forcing a combined eight turnovers in wins over NC State and Notre Dame, the Cardinals failed to record a turnover for the second time this season — the only other time was in a 56-28 win over Boston College. The Cards are +3 on the season.

Duke

  • No. 20 Duke heads to Louisville, Ky., on Saturday for another top-20 contest with No. 18 Louisville at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium ... kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., with the game being televised live by ESPN.
  • This year’s game marks the fourth on the gridiron between the two schools with Louisville leading the series, 3-0, including a 62-22 victory during the teams’ last meeting on Nov. 18, 2021 in Durham ... Saturday’s game marks the first time these two programs have met while both nationally ranked.
  • Louisville is Duke’s fourth nationally-ranked opponent faced in its opening eight games ... the last time the Blue Devils faced four ranked opponents in the same season was 2013 against No. 16 Virginia Tech, No. 24 Miami, No. 1 Florida State, and No. 20 Texas A&M ... Duke is currently 1-2 on the year against top-25 foes.
  • Additionally, the Blue Devils are facing back-to-back top-20 opponents during the same season for the first since 2013 (No. 1 Florida State and No. 20 Texas A&M) and for the first time during the regular season since 1994 (No. 9 Florida State and No. 13 Virginia).
  • Under head coach Mike Elko, Duke has won the turnover battle in 12 of its 20 games and has scored 129 points off those turnovers (17 touchdowns, three field goals and one two-point conversion).
  • Duke head coach Mike Elko is 14-6 (.700) through the first 20 games of his tenure with the Blue Devils, marking the second-best 20-game start to a head coaching stint in school history ... additionally, Elko’s record through 20 games is the best among current ACC coaches to open their respective tenures at their current institutions
  • The Blue Devils rank in the top half of the ACC in both scoring offense (29.57 ppg; 7th) and defense (13.86 ppg; 1st) ... they are the only ACC school averaging 25.0 points per game and allowing less than 15.0 points per outing.
  • Graduate running back Jordan Waters ranks tied for fourth in the ACC in scoring, averaging 7.71 points per game ... the Fairmont, N.C., native has nine rushing scores for 54 points in Duke’s first seven games ... he has scored one rushing touchdown in six of Duke’s seven games this season.
  • Redshirt sophomore linebacker Tre Freeman leads the team and is sixth in the ACC with 56 tackles on the year ... the Durham, N.C., native is averaging 8.00 tackles per game and led the Blue Devils in tackles in three contests against No. 9 Clemson, No. 11 Notre Dame and NC State ... over his last three outings, Freeman has compiled 35 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one interception, and three quarterback pressures.
  • Since 2022, Duke has scored on its first possession in 11 games, including nine for a touchdown ... as a defense, the Blue Devils have only allowed eight opponents to score on their opening possession.
  • Duke has put together 14 scoring drives of eight-plus plays, including five of 10-plus plays. Additionally, Duke has needed just two or less plays six times to find the end zone, including three times during its outing against NC State.
  • The Blue Devils are 5-1 this season and 13-1 overall under Elko when leading after the third quarter. Additionally, in its seven games of 2023, Duke is outscoring its opponents 99-46 in the second half, including allowing just three points in the third quarter.
  • In the two previous years prior to head coach Mike Elko taking over at the helm, Duke ranked 91st and 102nd in scoring offense and 115th and 127th in scoring defense, respectively ... over the last two seasons, the Blue Devils have ranked in the top-60 in both categories.
  • In the two years prior to Mike Elko taking over, Duke lost 18 games by an average of 25.1 points ... in 2021 alone, the Blue Devils’ margin of defeat was 28.6 points per outing. Since then, the Blue Devils have lost just six games in two years by an average of 6.83 points ... its largest loss under Elko was an 18-point defeat at No. 4 Florida State during Duke’s last outing ... prior to that, all of Blue Devils’ losses under Elko were by eight-or-less points.

Depth Charts

Here are the depth charts for both teams ahead of their matchup: Louisville vs. Duke

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Blue Devils, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Duke

Uniform Report

Louisville will be wearing red jerseys and pants with white helmets, while will be wearing blue helmets and pants with white jerseys.

Additional Coverage

(Photo via Jaylynn Nash - USA TODAY Sports)

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Published
Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic

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