BOZICH | October report cards for U of L, UK, IU, WKU football | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Down the stretch they come — and not just at Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup this weekend.

The college football regular season has reached the stretch drive. Just a month ago, Scott Satterfield was on the Hot Seat at Louisville, Kentucky was solidly positioned as a Top-25 team, Indiana was hoping for bowl eligibility and Western Kentucky was angling for a nine-win season.

That's not the updated forecast.

Time for another round of report cards for the local FBS programs from Dr. Bo:

Louisville (5-3)

What to Like: Cards have flipped the mojo on their season, winning three straight and chasing the program's first four-game winning streak since 2016. Louisville ranks third in the Atlantic Coast Conference and fourth in the nation in turnover margin at +11. They're playing defense that makes a difference.
What Not to Like: They started October with that puzzling loss to Boston College, which lost to Connecticut last Saturday. Remember, the Cardinals are still only 2-3 in the ACC.
Best Win: Turning Wake Forest over and over and over in a 48-21 victory that knocked the Demon Deacons out of the top 10.
Worse Loss: BC 34, Louisville 33.
Key Players: Yasir Abdullah and Yaya Diaby are performing like first-team all ACC players, looking impossible to block at times. Cornerback Quincy Riley has also developed nicely.
Road Ahead: The Cards host a dangerous James Madison squad Saturday night before the finishing stretch against Clemson, North Carolina State and Kentucky. They need one win for bowl eligibility.
Preseason Forecast: 7-5
September Record: 2-2
October Record: 3-1
Revised Forecast: 7-5
Final Takeaways: The only game that seems out of reach for the Cards is the trip to Clemson next week. North Carolina State has struggled without injured quarterback Devin Leary, and Kentucky appears headed in the wrong direction. Satterfield's increased attention to the defense has made a difference.

Dr. Bo Grade: B

Kentucky (5-3)

Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez is wrapped up by Tennessee defenders in a loss in Knoxville.
ERIC CRAWFORD

What to Like: The Wildcats rallied and defeated a five-win Mississippi State team as the defense limited the Bulldogs to 17 points.
What Not to Like: The same defense had no answers for Tennessee, which hung 44 against UK, ending that game in the second quarter. And the Wildcats lost at home to a South Carolina program they had dominated.
Best Win: Kentucky doesn't have any wins against a program currently ranked in the Top 25, and Mississippi State appears a bit stronger than Florida.
Worse Loss: Losing by 10 to a South Carolina team that lost to Missouri by 13.
Key Players: Barion Brown ranks third among freshman in the Southeastern Conference with 26 catches and two touchdowns. He's also averaging nearly 37 yards per kickoff return. Linebacker DeAndre Square leads the team with 55 tackles.
Road Ahead: The Wildcats are positioned to get to 8-4, with only the Georgia game out of reach. But neither the Missouri nor Louisville games tilt toward the Wildcats as much as they did a month ago, so 7-5 remains in play, too.
Preseason Forecast: 8-4
September Record: 4-0
October Record: 1-3
Revised Forecast: 8-4
Final Takeaways: The Wildcats need a win Saturday at Missouri, a program Kentucky has beaten six times in the last seven meetings. They're only favored by two points. Losing to South Carolina and Missouri in a season where the Wildcats were ranked No. 7, one spot ahead of Tennessee, only five weeks ago, would be a step backward.

Dr. Bo Grade: C-plus

Indiana (3-5)

What to Like: The Hoosiers have not totally surrendered (as they appeared to last season), losing to Maryland and Rutgers by a combined 12 points in their last two games.
What Not to Like: The Hoosiers have lost five straight, ranking last in the Big Ten in scoring defense and 12th in total defense.
Best Win: With an overall record of 7-1 and a conference mark of 4-1, the Illini could not win in Bloomington on Sept. 2.
Worse Loss: IU's loss at Rutgers on Oct. 22 was the Scarlet Knights' first home Big Ten victory since 2017.
Key Players: Most of the key guys are injured: offensive tackle Matthew Bedford, linebacker Cam Jones and receiver Cam Camper. Linebacker Aaron Casey has delivered a solid season with 66 tackles.
Road Ahead: The Hoosiers won't be favored in a game again until next season. They won't win at Ohio State next week. They have to hope to catch a flat Penn State team Saturday, a dysfunctional Michigan State team Nov. 19 or a rivalry game in Bloomington against Purdue on Nov. 26.
Preseason Forecast: 4-8
September Record: 3-1
October Record: 0-4
Revised Forecast: 4-8
Final Takeaways: The Hoosiers need to find a way to win one of the final four games so they don't finish consecutive seasons on nine-game losing streaks.

Dr. Bo Grade: D

Western Kentucky (5-4)

What to Like: The Hilltoppers continue to close in on bowl eligibility with a passing attack ranked 12th in the nation at nearly 318 yards per game.
What Not to Like: WKU has not beaten an FBS opponent with a winning record and their first three defeats were by a combined 13 points.
Best Win: Handling a rival (Middle Tennessee State), 35-17, on the road, especially after that rival won at Miami.
Worse Loss: Losing to North Texas by 27 points in Bowling Green was not inspiring.
Key Players: Quarterback Austin Reed has delivered, throwing 22 touchdown passes with only six interceptions while linebacker JaQues Evans ranks second in Conference USA with 77 tackles.
Road Ahead: None of WKU's final four opponents have winning records, starting with Charlotte, the team the Hilltoppers visit Saturday.
Preseason Forecast: 7-6
September Record: 3-1
October Record: 2-3
Revised Forecast: 7-6
Final Takeaways: The Hilltoppers have nice wins over MTSU and UAB, but the blowout defeat against North Texas set off alarms.

Dr. Bo Grade: C-plus.