LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Remember all the encouraging things the Athlon College Football Yearbook predicted for the University of Louisville football team during the 2023 season?
Well, the staff at Lindy’s Sports Yearbook took it up notch in their preview edition. Lindy’s ranked the Cardinals higher in the Atlantic Coast Conference and higher in the nation.
It included five current Louisville players on its top three ACC pre-season teams. It ranked Jeff Brohm’s recruiting class 6th best in the ACC.
That’s a long enough tease. Lindy’s provided (at least) 3 reasons to be excited about the new look for Louisville football, which opens the 2023 season in 85 days against Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
1. Another Spot in the Top 40
What if I told you that Lindy’s ranked Louisville ahead of Oklahoma State, Auburn, Michigan State, Mississippi State and the program Brohm left in December — Purdue?
Well, it does.
What if I told you that Lindy’s ranked Louisville ahead of Miami, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh?
Well, it does.
What if I told you Lindy’s ranked Louisville only two spots behind a program the Cardinals have not defeated the last four times the schools played?
Well, it does.
Lindy’s ranked Louisville No. 38 in the nation, two spots ahead the Cards’ ranking at Athlon. The Cardinals are also only two spots behind No. 36 Kentucky, separated by Boise State.
“Excitement with Brohm is warranted but big leap might be a year away,” is the condensed scouting report on Louisville.
For the record, here is Lindy’s national Top 10: 1. Georgia; 2. Michigan; 3. Ohio State; 4. Alabama; 5. LSU; 6. Florida State; 7. Washington; 8. Penn State; 9. Texas; 10. USC.
And, of local interest, Western Kentucky is No. 60, tops in rebuilt Conference USA. Indiana is No. 73, ahead of only Northwestern in the Big Ten.
In addition to it’s No. 36 national ranking, Kentucky is ranked the 10th best team in the Southeastern Conference, ahead of Auburn, Missouri, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
Cincinnati, the new home of former Louisville coach Scott Satterfield is ranked No. 65 nationally and 13th in the Big 12 — ahead of only West Virginia.
2. Sixth Place in the ACC
Although Athlon picked Louisville in a five-way tie for third place in league play, technically the Cardinals were ranked the seventh best in the league.
Lindy’s bumped the Cards to sixth, trailing FSU (No. 6); Clemson (No. 11); North Carolina (No. 26); Duke (No. 33) and North Carolina State (No. 35).
The editors ranked Louisville higher than eight teams on the Cards’ 2023 schedule — Georgia Tech; Murray State; IU; Boston College; Pitt; Virginia Tech; Virginia and Miami.
Like Athlon, Lindy’s projects the schedule breaks in favor of the Cardinals. With the ACC moving away from the Atlantic and Coastal division alignment, Louisville will not play the three teams predicted to lead the conference — FSU, Clemson and UNC.
The Cards will play the bottom five teams — Virginia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, BC and Pittsburgh.
3. Five Cards made Lindy’s top 3 All-ACC teams
Brohm won the Big Ten West last season without the best talent in that division, and he’ll have to win this season without close to the best talent in the ACC.
A breakdown of the top 3 all-ACC teams shows that the big dogs are the programs you expect to be the big dogs. Florida State is represented by a dozen players and Clemson has 11. Duke, with seven, as well as Pitt, Miami and UNC (all six) have more.
These are the five Louisville players recognized by Lindy’s:
First Team
Receiver Jamari Thrash — an all-Sun Belt performer last season who caught caught 61 passes for 1,122 yards in 2022.
Center Bryan Hudson — a second-year starter who is currently competing in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the shot put in Austin, Texas.
Second Team
Defensive back Storm Duck — a transfer from North Carolina, Duck intercepted three passes and made 46 tackles for the Tar Heels in 2022.
Third Team
Running back Jawhar Jordan — Led the Cards in rushing last season with 815 yards on 142 carries, a solid average of 5.74 yards per attempt.
Offensive tackle Renato Brown — Starting 34 games over the last three seasons, Brown tied for the team lead with 53 knockdown blocks last season,
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