2011 Louisville Cardinals Football Predictions, Odds, Picks and Schedule – 2011 Louisville NCAA Football Preview

2011 Lousiville Cardinals College Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – Louisville NCAA Football Preview: Last season, Charlie Strong was brought in to rebuild a Louisville program that had fallen into disarray after being on the verge of a national title shot less than a decade ago. Strong didn’t waste much time righting the ship, leading the Cardinals back to a bowl game in his first year as coach. However, Louisville loses a lot of starters from last year’s team, and Strong may once again have to defy the experts if the Cardinals are going to have a successful season.

Strong made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator at Florida, and his background was apparent in his first year at Louisville. The Cardinals unit ranked in the top 20 nationally in terms of points allowed, surrendering less than 20 points per game. This year’s unit should have a nice mixture of youth and experience. Senior defensive end/linebacker Greg Scruggs anchors a stout defensive front, while freshman safety Gerrod Holliman should start immediately after being considered a top-five defensive back coming out of high school. Converted cornerback Dareus Ashley should help the secondary as well. He performed surprisingly well last season at his new position after playing running back his first two years at Louisville.

The defense will have to perform up to expectations this season to make up for a lackluster offense that returns just four starters in 2011-12. The Cardinals will be completely reloading at the skill positions, starting under center. Sophomore Dominique Brown is the frontrunner, but freshman Teddy Bridegwater may end up starting at some point. Bridegwater is a dual-threat QB out of Florida, who was highly coveted by the Miami Hurricanes. Granted, the Hurricanes aren’t the national power they once were, but when Louisville can beat out Miami for a quarterback, it should have Cardinals fans smiling.

On the ground, Jeremy Wright will take over as the team’s top back. He doesn’t have a ton of experience as a starter, but he was effective in limited action. Wright managed just over 300 yards last year, but he did so on more than five yards per carry. While the average is likely to fall in a full-time role, he has a solid chance of topping 1,000 yards. Given the uncertainty at the QB spot, Wright could end up being the focal point of the Louisville attack.

The out-of-conference schedule for the Cardinals isn’t a complete cakewalk, but it is manageable. Road games against Kentucky and North Carolina could go either way, but Louisville should get at least three wins before opening Big East play. The conference schedule opens with a tough road game against Cincinnati, but its follows with two very winnable games at home against Rutgers and Syracuse. The road gets a little harder to navigate after that as the Cardinals go on the road to play West Virginia, Connecticut and USF and play Pittsburgh at home.

Led by a solid defense, the Cardinals should jump out to a fast start. However, a lack of offensive firepower will likely cause the team to limp home as the top teams in the Big East come calling. Louisville will likely find a way to get to six wins and earn another bowl appearance, but that is probably the ceiling for this team. Strong needs a few more years to stockpile some talent before the Cardinals will make any real noise.

2011 Louisville Cardinals College Football Predictions: 6-6 Record

Preseason 2011 Lousiville Cardinals NCAA Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: NA/Off the Board
Odds to Win 2011 Big East Champonship: +800
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2011 Louisville Cardinals College Football Schedule
Thu, Sep 1 Murray State 6:00 pm —
Fri, Sep 9 FIU 7:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 17 at Kentucky 6:00 pm —
Sat, Oct 1 Marshall TBA —
Sat, Oct 8 at North Carolina TBA —
Sat, Oct 15 at Cincinnati TBA —
Fri, Oct 21 Rutgers 8:00 pm —
Sat, Oct 29 Syracuse TBA —
Sat, Nov 5 at West Virginia TBA —
Sat, Nov 12 Pittsburgh TBA —
Sat, Nov 19 at Connecticut TBA —
Fri, Nov 25 at South Florida TBA —

Check out NSAwins.com’s official 2011 Big East Football Predictions, Odds and Preview article.

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