LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There are 64 college football programs swimming in the shark tank known as the Power 5 leagues, the land of the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conferences.
There is one program in that group of 64 that has four remaining games against opponents ranked in the current Associated Press Top 25.
That program is not Tennessee, which plays three Top-25 teams.
Nor is it ACC leader Clemson, which plays one. Defending national champion Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan all play two.
That program is Louisville, which begins its dance with the heavyweights at 3:30 p.m. Saturday when No. 10 Wake Forest visits Cardinal Stadium.
On Tuesday, during his weekly media session, U of L head coach Scott Satterfield talked like someone who hoped that the opportunity to watch the Cardinals upset the defending ACC Atlantic Division champions would energize U of L fans to fill more of Cardinal Stadium's 60,800 seats.
"If you don't have plans or you're on the fence about whether or not to go, we really need you to come out to this game," Satterfield said.
Over three home games, the Cardinals' average announced home crowds has been 43,172, about 71% of capacity. That ranks 65th nationally and 12th in the ACC, ahead of Virginia and Duke.
In 2019, when Satterfield was voted ACC coach of the year during his first season, the Cards averaged 49,913 for six home games, filling 82% of the seats. That average ranked 39th nationally and seventh in the ACC, ahead of Virginia, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Boston College, Wake Forest and Duke.
For a variety of reasons — with COVID-19, losing and expenses high on the list — a pocket of fans have lost that loving feeling. Getting them back in the stadium is one thing on the line against Wake.
What else is at stake?
A chance for Satterfield to improve his 1-6 record here against ranked opponents as well as his 0-3 mark against top-10 opponents.
It is an opportunity for Louisville to deliver its first victory against the top-10 team since Lamar Jackson ran wild in front of Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler and the ESPN GameDay crew against No. 2 Florida State in September 2016.
In that game, the Cardinals were ranked 10th. The last time an unranked Louisville team toppled a top-10 opponent was 20 years ago when John L. Smith led the Cardinals through the rain and FSU for a 26-20 victory in overtime.
And this game, as well as the next four, are an opportunity for Satterfield to get more fans back on his side.
In addition to playing host to James Madison on Nov. 5, the Cards will get No. 5 Clemson (away), No. 21 North Carolina State (home) and No. 19 Kentucky (away).
Wake Forest, Michigan State, West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Arizona, California and Colorado all have three games remaining against ranked teams. Every other Power 5 program faces two or less.
Satterfield made this pitch Tuesday.
"It's a huge game for us," he said. "A great opportunity for our team to continue to try to play really good football coming off two wins in a row in ACC play.
"And now, being able to host one of the best teams in our league and a top-10 team in the country.
"Hopefully, we'll have a great crowd. If you don't have tickets, go out and get tickets. This is college football at its best right here with the 10th-ranked team.
"I think about home field advantage. I think about when we went to Syracuse and what kind of advantage Syracuse had playing in that environment. I think about when we've got to go to Clemson (Nov. 12) what kind of environment that's going to be, a definite home-field advantage.
"We need to have that homefield advantage here. We need to have the people come out and yell and be loud and noisy. Because it affects things. It affects offenses, no question about it, in a hostile environment.
It's all right there for Satterfield's team. A chance to get that win over a top-10 team. A chance to stretch its winning streak to three. A chance to get to five wins, on the brink of bowl eligibility.
And a chance to get more Louisville fans back on board.
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