LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jeff Brohm took a long look at the way Indiana defended Ohio State and said the Hoosiers have the defensive guys to give his University of Louisville football team trouble Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Tom Allen turned off the music and announced that Tayven Jackson is officially Indiana's No. 1 quarterback, a decision Allen was unwilling to make in weeks 1 and 2.

Toss in the backdrop that the Hoosiers want to turn a contracted three-game series with the Cardinals into a one-and-done arrangement, and you don't have to search for storylines for Saturday's noon kickoff.

But this is Monday. Those three things can wait. This is the more pressing question:

Which team needs this victory more: the 2-0 Cardinals or the 1-1 Hoosiers, who beat Indiana State after losing to Ohio State?

Has to be ... Hmmmmm ...

... not an easy answer, is it?

My first impulse was to say Indiana, because, over the last two seasons, victories have been so difficult for the Hoosiers to collect that every opportunity is a precious opportunity.

But that underplays what is at sake for Brohm's first Louisville team, which has played its way to No. 27 (ahead of UCLA, Iowa, Arkansas, Kentucky and other unbeatens) in the latest edition of ESPN's Football Power Index ratings.

Look at what is developing for the Cardinals: a direct path to a 5-0 start and potential high-octane, high-stakes game against Notre Dame on Oct. 7 at L&N Cardinal Stadium.

Beat IU to get to 3-0.

Return home to play Boston College. The Eagles lost to Northern Illinois and scrambled to outlast Holy Cross by three points. Smells like 4-0. BC ranks 88th in the nation in total offense, 84th in total defense.

Make a trip to Raleigh, North Carolina, to play North Carolina State on Friday, Sept. 29. The Wolfpack struggled to put away Connecticut in their opener and gave up 45 points while losing to Notre Dame by three touchdowns last weekend.

Do I hear 5-0?

Yes, I do. But first, the Cardinals cannot stumble against Indiana as solid 10-point favorites. ESPN's FPI index has U of L tracking toward 8.3 wins.

I'll open the floor for a dissenting voice.

Yes, Louisville can chase 6-0 against Notre Dame. For Indiana, the goal is to chase six wins over a dozen games and the FPI index puts IU at 4.6 victories.

Beating Louisville would be the Hoosiers' surest path to achieving that goal, because, unlike UofL, IU plays nine conference games instead of eight.

A loss to Louisville would mean that Indiana would have to defeat Akron next week and then win four Big Ten games to become bowl eligible.

They will not defeat Michigan. They will not defeat Penn State. They started the season with a 20-point home loss to Ohio State.

That means the Hoosiers would have to win four of six against Maryland, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue.

Maryland, Illinois and Purdue are road games. Talk about squeezing your margin for error to the limit. Indiana has won two of its last 19 Big Ten games, one away from Memorial Stadium.

Indiana needs this victory — badly.

But so does Louisville. The Cardinals are ranked comfortably ahead of the Hoosiers in nearly every computer power formula.

They've been the stronger, more successful program for the last 30 years, playing and winning significant bowl games while sending more players to the NFL.

Even with the game booked for Indianapolis, I expect UofL will put more fans in Lucas Oil Stadium than the Hoosiers put in the 70,000-seat building.

Brohm and his assistant coaches have made recruiting inroads in the state of Indiana — and expect them to proceed with more confidence as they settle into the job.

A win over the Hoosiers would add an exclamation point to the recruiting pitch, especially with the Hoosiers so intent on canceling the final two years of the series.

Come to Louisville. We'll play anybody.

The only way Indiana can slow that narrative is with a victory, especially in a game 50 miles from their campus in a city filled with Big Ten/ACC quality prospects.

So who needs a victory in Saturday's game more?

Tune in Saturday.

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