LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Stanford University has a proud and respected football tradition, driven by famous stars like Jim Plunkett, John Elway, Richard Sherman, Andrew Luck and Christian McCaffrey.
But this season, the Cardinal do not showcase a player like those guys or have a team to fear in Stanford's first season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Stanford, Louisville's opponent Saturday, sits in 16th place in the 17-team ACC. The Cardinal have lost six straight games, five by 24 or more points. They have not won since Sept. 20.
A closer look at the most winnable game remaining on the Louisville schedule.
The Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (EST), Stanford Stadium (50,424), Palo Alto, Calif.
How to Watch/Listen: TV — ACC Network (Jorge Sedano, play by play; Orlando Franklin, analyst; Morgan Uber, sidelines); RADIO — Louisville Sports Properties, 93.9 FM, 970 AM (Paul Rogers, play by play; Craig Swabek, analyst; Jody Demling sidelines).
The Line: Point spread Louisville favored by 21; Over under total points scored 58.
The Last Time: First game between the Cardinals and Cardinal.
The Series: Game one.
The Records: Louisville is 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. The Cards are on a two-game winning streak, highlighted by their win at Clemson two weeks ago. Stanford is 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the ACC.
The teams share three opponents. Louisville beat Clemson (33-21) but lost to Notre Dame (31-24) and SMU (34-27). Stanford lost to Clemson (40-14), Notre Dame (49-7) and SMU (40-10).
Player to Watch for Louisville: Quarterback Tyler Shough figures to have a big game. Stanford ranks 16th in the ACC in pass defense, allowing a league high 23 touchdown passes as well as 268 yards per game. Stanford will also be without defensive back Zahran Manley.
Player to Watch for Stanford: Receiver Elic Ayomanor ranks eighth in the ACC in receiving yards per game. He's made 56 catches for 592 yards and five touchdowns.
Sideline Storylines:
- This will be the fourth game Louisville has played in the state of California. They have a 1-1-1 record, beating Long Beach State in the 1970 Pasadena Bowl, tying San Jose State in 1990 and losing to USC in the Holiday Bowl last season.
- Louisville has won four consecutive road games, its longest winning streak away from home since 2013.
- Louisville halfback Isaac Brown has run for more than 100 yards four times. His 800 yards ranks second in the national among all freshmen, trailing only Ahmad Hardy of Louisiana-Monroe, who has 915.
- Stanford ranks 76th in the nation in home attendance with an announced crowd average of 27,505. The Cardinal drew only 19,117 for their home game with SMU and 23,471 for a game with Wake Forest.
- The Stanford defense has forced 13 turnovers, returning a a fumble as well as an interception for a touchdown.
- Like Louisville, Stanford had a bye last Saturday.
- The Louisville offensive line has kept Shough clean on his last 70 passing attempts. The Cards have won their last eight games in which they did not allow a sack.
- Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels is the top rushing quarterback in the ACC with 481 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels ran for 87 yards against Clemson and 129 against North Carolina State. Daniels is a shaky passer, throwing eight interceptions with only six TD passes in 172 attempts.
The Quote: Stanford coach Troy Taylor was a college teammate of U of L defensive coordinator in college at California. Taylor remains friends with English, complimenting Louisville's defense.
"Ron is a phenomenal defensive coach and a great person. He does an outstanding job with their defense. They're very deep on the defensive line (and) they do a lot of different things defensively. They're sound, they're fast, they're good tacklers. They present a big challenge and he's an outstanding coach and a good friend."
The Pick: Louisville 42, Stanford 10.
Louisville Football Coverage:
- BOZICH | Louisville's ACC title game hopes at 7%, starting with Pitt upsetting Clemson
- Against the Spread | Can Louisville, Kentucky cover big numbers?
- BOZICH | Louisville ends Clemson drought, dominating No. 11 Tigers, 33-21
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