Louisville Florida State

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The University of Louisville athletic program will sail into its ninth season in the Atlantic Coast Conference later this year.

Life is more entertaining than what the American Athletic, Big East, Conference USA, Metro and Missouri Valley Conferences offered.

With one minor quibble: Who are Louisville’s primary ACC rivals?

The question should be asked today because the ACC spring meetings began Monday in Amelia Island, Florida. Pete Thamel of ESPN reported league officials are considering eliminating the seven-team Atlantic and Coastal divisions for football.

If that move is made, the ACC would adopt a schedule where schools would have either two or three yearly rivals while every other league team rotates on an off the schedule.

That sounds like the perfect time for U of L fans to speak: Who are the two or three ACC programs you want the Cards’ football team to play every year?

Virginia is the program that the ACC has wedged into a scheduling partnership with the Cards, promoting an annual football game and home-and-home men’s basketball games with the Cavaliers.

In football, U of L plays it’s six Atlantic Division opponents (Florida State, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse and Clemson), Virginia and a rotating opponent from the Coastal Division.

I know Louisville fans who would celebrate if the Cards’ never played Tony Bennett’s UVa basketball team again. But this is a football conversation.

The Louisville-Virginia football rivalry has been solid but hardly spectacular. The programs have split eight games since U of L joined the ACC, with the Cards winning three of the first four.

Both programs have won once in the other team’s stadium, and five games have been decided by a touchdown or less.

If the ACC goes to three annual opponents, Virginia would be a reasonable pick. It’s a game that a good Louisville team should usually win. It’s a pleasant seven-hour drive to Charlottesville where it’s not a tough ticket for opposing fans.

But the Cards need a sexier name for their primary ACC football opponent.

I’d argue for Florida State over Clemson and Miami. Those are the three programs with national cache in the ACC. Florida State tops the list in that group.

The Cards have never beaten Dabo Swinney and Clemson, and the gap between the programs has gotten larger, not smaller.

Miami recruited coach Mario Cristobal from Oregon to give the Hurricanes the swagger they’ve missed since the Howard Schnellenberger/Jimmy Johnson/Dennis Erickson Eras. Their boosters are spending like a program without a salary cap. The U seems determined to become a handful again.

But Florida State and Louisville have a history. They competed as basketball rivals in the Metro Conference, and the programs started competing in football in 1952.

The Cards will play their 2022 home opener when the Seminoles visit Cardinal Stadium on Friday Sept. 16. It will be the 23rd game in the series. Louisville will try to extend its winning streak to three games. The programs split eight games since the Cards moved into the ACC. FSU flipped Scott Satterfield’s top quarterback recruit several years ago.

In a world without divisions, the U of L-FSU rivalry should continue. It’s a game the Cards can win, and the program benefits from the recruiting exposure in Florida.

Which programs should be Louisville's primary ACC football rivals?

You voted:

I’d argue for Georgia Tech as the second permanent ACC opponent. That’s another program with a Metro Conference connection. It’s also a team Louisville should beat while gaining exposure in the fertile Atlanta, Georgia, recruiting area.

Boston College and Syracuse offer little. Tough trips for fans. Sagging tradition. There’s nothing compelling about the four North Carolina schools, at least not in football.

Virginia Tech and Louisville have played once since the Cards joined the ACC. U of L has not made a trip to Blacksburg during that period. Shrug.

Pittsburgh is worth a discussion. The programs have played 18 teams since 1976 and had a solid rivalry in the Big East.

But if the ACC eliminates divisions and goes to two permanent opponents, I’d prefer to see Louisville play Florida State and Georgia Tech.

If the plan is three permanent opponents and five rotating programs, give me FSU, the Yellow Jackets and Virginia.

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