The #19 Louisville Cardinals will host the Charlotte 49ers on Thursday, September 1st at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN3. The 49ers are heavy underdogs for the start of college football season. Louisville is slated to have an astounding year by some handicappers.
Some experts have Louisville as the one non-Power Five conference team to make the College Football Playoffs. The time for talk is over when the opening game at Papa John’s Stadium is underway. The Cardinals are a -40 point favorite to kick off the 2016 season and the over/under is 59.5.
Charlotte:
Charlotte finished last in the Conference USA standings a season ago. They tallied a 2-10 overall record. Things might be looking up for the 49ers as 16 starters return for another season.
Charlotte’s offense should be immediately upgraded by Miami, Florida transfer Kevin Olsen at quarterback. Olsen is the younger brother of the Carolina Panther’s Pro Bowl tight-end Greg Olsen. Greg Olsen also played his college ball as a Hurricane.
Nine of the 16 starters returning are offensive starters. Another year of experience gives them promise that they can help support their new signal-caller. The only problem is that the offensive line was a major issue in 2015 and Louisville loves to bring pressure from the edge.
Kaliff Phillips hopes to stay injury free and build on his impressive collegiate career. In 2014, Phillips rumbled for almost 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns. Last year, the impressive back almost reached the 1,000 yard mark despite being injured for the last three games. As a result, he was named to the conference’s second team.
Kevin Olsen should have a few capable wide receivers to distribute the rock to. Austin Duke and Trent Bostick combined for 85 catches and almost 1,000 yards. Together, they reached pay dirt on eight different occasions. Duke is capable of having a big year. In 2014, as a sophomore, he brought in almost 80 balls for over 1,300 yards and nine scores.
On defense Charlotte has a nose guard that is making some noise. Nose Tackle Larry Ogunjobi is on the watch lists for the Outland and Bednarik Awards. In last years campaign he racked up 14.5 tackles for a loss.
Louisville:
Louisville concluded 2015 with a 7-5 record to show for their efforts. That can be deceiving considering they struggled through their first two games without a number one quarterback. In stepped Jamar Jackson and Louisville won seven of their next ten ball games.
They capped off the 2015 season with an impressive bowl win over the Texas A&M Aggies in the Music City Bowl (27-21). Now, 15 starters from that team return and there are big expectations for this evenly balanced ball club.
Lamar Jackson passed for 1,840 yards and rushed for another 960 last season. Remember, he did this in only ten games under center. What was really impressive was the fact he threw for 12 scores and ran for another 11. Furthermore, he set a Music City Bowl record when he amassed over 450 total yards en route to their victory. This kid is the real deal and if he stays healthy he could be a dark horse for the Heisman.
Jackson will try to distribute the ball to his senior wide-out James Quick. Quick was a solid performer during his junior season. The receiver caught almost 40 balls for over 600 yards and five scores. Fellow senior Jamari Staples pitched in down field also. Staples reeled in almost 40 catches for over six hundred yards and three touchdowns.
It was running back by committee for Louisville in 2015. Brandon Radcliff led the way in the backfield by chalking up 634 yards and seven scores. Obviously, Jamar Jackson contributed his team high 960 yards and 11 touchdowns.
On defense, Louisville is plum full of talented play-makers that will give offenses fits all year if they can stay healthy. To provide some run stoppage, the Cardinals have three All-ACC performers at linebacker. Keith Kelsey had 107 stops last season, and his partner in crime Devonte Fields led the country with 1.73 tackles for loss. To protect against the pass, the Cardinals have all four returning starters back. Josh Harvey-Clemons, a 6’5, 230 pound safety with speed had 88 hard hitting tackles.
Match-Up Analysis:
The Cardinals won six of their final seven games last season, including a Music City Bowl contest against Texas A&M. Almost all of the starters are back for a Louisville squad that finished the year on fire. They won six of their last seven games and looked impressive on both sides of the ball doing it.
Lamar Jackson was an absolute beast as a freshman and with a full year of experience, skies the limit for this phenom. Jackson also has enough talent round him to distribute the rock and take some pressure off of himself. All that lumped together adds up to big trouble for the 49ers.
Charlotte does have some talent returning at some key positions. The big question is whether Kevin Olsen can get them the ball. Louisville loves to pressure and Charlotte’s offensive line is suspect at best. Even if Olsen finds a way to get the rock to the skilled positions, the Cardinal is loaded with speed and skill from the linebackers on back.
The 40 point spread is unplayable in my eyes because I think the 49ers will find away to score a little. I don’t see Louisville putting up 55 plus points but they will have no problem reaching the 40’s. Late game junk points in a blowout are a recipe for an over. Give me the total 59.5.
The Hun’s Prediction:
The Over 59.5
