Ranking Louisville Football's 2020 Schedule
As of right now, the Louisville Cardinals are still slated to play a full 2020 college football schedule. Barring any sort of change due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Louisville Report will be ranking all of next season's schedule from worst to first.
No. 12: vs. Murray State - Sept. 19
2019 Record: 4-8
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 14-6
No surprise here. Murray State is the lone FCS team on Louisville's 2020 schedule, and they aren't particularly good either. The Racers went 0-3 against ranked FCS teams last season, losing by a combined score of 87-43. Their lone game against an FBS opponent wound up as a lopsided affair, as they lost 63-17 to the #3 Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium.
No. 11: vs. Western Kentucky - Sept. 26
2019 Record: 9-4
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 21-12
The Hilltoppers came close to upsetting the Cardinals in Bobby Petrino's last season at the helm in 2018, but Scott Satterfield made it much more competitive in 2019 against fellow first year head coach Tyson Helton. It should be a competitive for the first quarter or two since WKU did manage to go 9-4 and win a bowl game last season, but with the series coming back to Louisville, the Cardinals should be a heavy favorite.
No. 10: vs. NC State - Sept. 3
2019 Record: 4-8
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 7-3
To say that NC State had a disappointing 2019 campaign would be an understatement. The Wolfpack started out 4-2, only to drop their final six games of the season, including 34-20 to Louisville at Carter-Finley Stadium in primetime thanks in part to some trickeration. With NC State losing two of their top talents on the defensive line and the Louisville offense primed to take a big step forward in 2020, the season opener at home could have potential to be an offensive show-of-force.
No. 9: at Syracuse - Oct. 3
2019 Record: 5-7
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 11-7
Cracking the Top 25 to start 2019, Syracuse had high expectations last season as they had gone 10-3 the year before. But like NC State, they too had a disappointing year that resulted in their defensive coordinator getting fired nine games into the season. While Micale Cunningham did throw for a career high five touchdowns against the Orange in 2019, Louisville's last three losses against Syracuse have all come at the Carrier Dome. This should be another high-scoring affair, but this also has trap game written all over it.
No. 8: vs. Wake Forest - Nov. 14
2019 Record: 8-5
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 5-2
Last season's 62-59 barnburner in Winston-Salem was one of the more thrilling matchups all of last season, but I would not expect the excitement factor to come close to matching in 2020. The Demon Deacons started 7-1, but then faltered down the stretch, losing 4 of their next 5. Making matters worse for head coach Dave Clawson, the architect of Wake's potent offense in quarterback Jamie Newman decided to go the grad transfer route and bolt to Georgia. While 62 points is a lot to ask from Louisville a second time, Wake Forest probably won't be putting up 59 points again, especially in Cardinal Stadium.
No. 7: at Virginia - Nov. 7
2019 Record: 9-5
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 5-3
This is another trap game candidate as, the Cardinals are just 1-2 in Charlottesville since joining the ACC. The Cavaliers might have lost second-team All-ACC QB Bryce Perkins and first-team all-purpose back Joe Reed, but the Cards still have experience with the Hoos' new signal caller. Keytaon Thompson joins UVA as a grad transfer from Mississippi State, and while he did not play in the 2019 Music City Bowl, his first collegiate start came against Louisville in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a 31-27 upset win over the Cardinals.
No. 6: at Boston College - Oct. 10
2019 Record: 6-7
All-Time Series: Louisville leads 7-5
Running back AJ Dillon might not be around anymore to terrorize Louisville, but the Cardinals' matchup in Chestnut Hill could be more intriguing than you think. In the offseason, the Eagles finally pulled the trigger and fired head coach Steve Addazio, replacing him with one of the best young coaches in the game in former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. What could make things more interesting is if the NCAA decides to grant a waiver to former four-star dual threat QB Phil Jurkovec, who transferred from Notre Dame.
No. 5: vs. Florida State - Oct. 24
2019 Record: 6-7
All-Time Series: Florida State leads 16-4
Oddsmakers, statistical systems and talking heads seems to be very high on Florida State in 2020. Considering this was a team that went under .500 in 2019 including a bowl loss to Arizona State, I personally do not understand why this is the case, but I digress. Regardless, the program should be imbued with new life following the program's decision to hire Memphis' Mike Norvell as the new head coach, and the subsequent boost in the recruiting rankings. Not to mention the fact that the last three games in the series have been fairly competitive.
No. 4: vs. Kentucky - Nov. 28
2019 Record: 8-5
All-Time Series: Kentucky leads 17-15
Considering how the Cardinals ended the 2019 regular season against the Wildcats last season, you can bet that Louisville will play inspired football when the rivalry shifts back to Louisville, no matter what the records of either team are. While wide receiver Lynn Bowden stole the spotlight because of the gaudy rushing numbers he posted while under center, the reason for his performance came because of the play of his offensive line. Kentucky's O-line ranked 5th in the nation according to PFF, and they return four of their five starters. DC Bryan Brown will have his work cut out for him so that he does not repeat the same performance from 2019.
No. 3: vs. Virginia Tech - Oct. 31
2019 Record: 8-5
All-Time Series: Virginia Tech leads 5-2
If all the correct dominoes fall, this very well could have College GameDay potential, or at least the makings of a primetime TV slot. Virginia Tech was one of the most underrated teams in all of FBS a season ago, led by one of the most underrated signal callers in the game. A true dual threat, redshirt junior QB Hendon Hooker won his first career six starts and set the program record with 124 consecutive pass attempts with an interception to begin his career. Combined with a well above average defense, and the Hokies could be poised for big things in 2020
No. 2: at Notre Dame - Nov. 21
2019 Record: 11-2
All-Time Series: Tied at 1-1
When the the first chapter of the Scott Satterfield era began with a season-opening affair against the Irish, very few could have foreseen that Louisville would keep the game as close as they did after seeing what the program went through in 2018. Now that the entire Louisville coaching staff is no longer playing catchup and Notre Dame continues to keep College Football Playoff aspirations, Round Two in South Bend has the makings for a very exciting matchup.
No. 1: at Clemson - Sept. 12
2019 Record: 14-1
All-Time Series: Clemson leads 6-0
Was there ever a doubt? Searching for their first win in program history against the Tigers won't come easy, as Louisville will head to Clemson this time around, facing a team that undoubtedly has unfinished business on their mind as the 2019 national runner up. Just to make things even harder, Dabo Swinney and Co. sport not one, but two legitimate Heisman candidates on the offensive side of the ball alone in QB Trevor Lawrence and RB Travis Etienne.
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