Ranking Louisville's Past Decade of Season Openers

A look at the past decade of openers for Cardinals football.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Summer is just around the corner, which means it's getting closer and closer to football season. Louisville kicks off the 2022 season up at Syracuse, which admittedly carries a little less juice than 2021 did when UofL traveled down to Atlanta to face Ole Miss.

However, the Cardinals have played in their fair share of quality season openers over the last decade. So let's rank the past 10 years of them.

For this list we're actually not going to factor in the quality of the on-field play or the outcome. Instead, we'll be looking at factors like quality of opponent, location, amount of storylines, and things that feed into the offseason hype of a season-opener.

10. 2016 vs. Charlotte

© Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Fans were excited to see what Lamar Jackson could do after his performance in the Music City Bowl, but there wasn't much else to get really excited for in this game. A clearly out-matched C-USA opponent doesn't exactly make for a summer full of hype.

9. 2013 vs. Ohio

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Louisville was coming off of their Sugar Bowl win the year prior, and there was a lot of buzz surrounding running the table, but that's really about it from an opener perspective.

8. 2022 at Syracuse

© Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

We have our first Power Five opponent, but there's not a ton of juice on either side heading into the game. Louisville had an underwhelming 2021 campaign, and Syracuse is not projected to be great in 2022, either. Plus it has been a lopsided series as of late.

7. 2020 vs. WKU

ACC Pool

Most fans were just happy to have football back after the COVID-19 pandemic struck earlier that year. Plus, both sides were coming off of promising 2019 campaigns under first-year head coaches.

6. 2021 vs. Ole Miss (Atlanta)

© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Facing the SEC is always a good way to start the year. The only reason this isn't higher is because both Louisville and Ole Miss had combined to go 9-12 the season before. At least the game was in Atlanta and was on national television.

5. 2015 vs. Auburn (Atlanta)

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Another SEC team in Atlanta! Except the stakes were a bit higher here, as the Tigers entered the season at No. 6 and had aspirations of getting back to the national championship.

4. 2019 vs. Notre Dame

© Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal, Louisville Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

With Bobby Petrino getting kicked to the curb after an awful 2018 campaign, there was a rejuvenation amongst the fanbase. Scott Satterfield's first test at Louisville came under the lights, in a blackout, facing a team with a very large local Catholic fanbase. This game still holds the Cardinal Stadium attendance record at 58,187.

3. 2014 vs. Miami

© Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

This game marked the start of a completely new era of Louisville football. Teddy Bridgewater and Charlie Strong were gone, but Bobby Petrino was back in town, giving fans hope that UofL wouldn't miss a beat. The 2014 opener marked the Cardinals' first game as members of the ACC, facing a conference foe they had just beaten in the Russell Athletic Bowl the year prior.

2. 2018 vs. Alabama (Orlando)

© Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

It doesn't get any bigger than facing the defending national champions under the lights on national television. Fans were also eager to see where Louisville would go post-Lamar Jackson (as it turns out, not great!). The only reason this isn't No. 1 is because, deep down, fans knew they probably were not winning this game. Especially without the best player in school history.

1. 2017 vs. Purdue (Indianapolis)

© Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

This game had all the storylines you wanted. Lamar Jackson was the defending Heisman Trophy winner, Louisville entered the season at No. 16, and they were facing a team whose head coach is amongst Cardinals royalty. Add the fact that this game was in primetime on national television, and in a stadium that's within driving distance for Louisville fans, and the offseason hype was off the charts.

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• Former Arizona State DT Jermayne Lole Schedules Louisville Visit
• Report: Scott Satterfield Believes Alabama Tampered With WR Tyler Harrell

(Photo of Jawon Pass: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal, Louisville Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

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