LOUISVILE, Ky. (WDRB) – It’s extra football for the first time in Louisville history. Under first-year coach Jeff Brohm the Cardinals’ are making an appearance in the ACC Championship game, after being picked to finish eighth in the league in the preseason.
Louisville has won games in a variety of ways, but it hasn’t faced a team of the caliber of Florida State, which rolled through the season under Heisman Trophy candidate Jordan Travis – who transferred from Louisville after his freshman season – and found a way to keep winning after Travis suffered a season-ending injury.
Florida State was roughly a touchdown favorite in opening lines, but that has shrunk precipitously as the quarterback situation in Tallahassee has come under scrutiny. Tate Rodemaker, an experienced backup, took a shot to the head in Florida State’s win at Florida, and has been in the concussion protocol all week. If he can’t go, the job will fall to an untested freshman.
Still, FSU boasts the ACC’s top defense and a solid running game behind it. Louisville will have to find a way to run the ball – and maybe a new gear in the rain, which is expected in the Charlotte area on Saturday.
The Cardinals’ only other rain game this season – at Pittsburgh – didn’t go well.
It's a challenge for Brohm and his team, but the coach knows something about these kinds of challenges. His Purdue teams upset three Top 5 opponents in his time there, as bigger underdogs than the Cardinals are today.
Here's what you need to know before kickoff:
The Time: Saturday 8 p.m., Bank of America Stdium, Charlotte, N.C.
How to Watch/Listen: TV – ABC (Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George). Radio – Louisville Sports Properties (Paul Rogers, Craig Swabek, Jody Demling). Note: A carriage dispute between Tegna (the company that owns WHAS in Louisville) and DirecTV could affect some viewers.
The Line: Florida State is favored by 1.5 points, with the over-under at 45.5 points.
The Last Time: Florida State beat Louisville 35-31 on Sept. 16, 2022, in L&N Stadium. Tate Rodemaker threw for 2 touchdowns in relief of the injured Jordan Travis to lead a fourth-quarter comeback in the win.
The Series: Florida State leads 17-3. The teams did not play in the regular season this year.
The Records: Louisville is 10-2 and ranked No. 15 nationally by The Associated Press. Florida is 12-0 and ranked No. 4 by The Associated Press and in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Player to Watch Louisville: Jamari Thrash, wide receiver. He’s the player who can make Louisville’s offense multi-dimensional. He’s where quarterback Jack Plummer looks on third down and in big situations. If Thrash is able to play and be effective despite a hand injury that has plagued him in the second half of the season, it makes Louisville a better running team and a more efficient offense all together. If he is limited, it will make scoring tougher for a Louisville team that has struggled at times defensively the past several weeks.
Player to Watch Florida State: Whoever the quarterback is. Rodemaker is an experienced backup, but has had limited practice time all week. That would thrust a true freshman, Brock Glenn, a 4-star recruit out of Covington, Tenn., into the starter’s role in a big spot. It wouldn’t be the first time that has happened, for Louisville this season, however. At Pitt, Christian Veilleux, a redshirt sophomore transfer making his first career start, overcame a slow start to complete 12 of 26 passes for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns in an upset win.
Sideline storylines: Florida State needs to win, perhaps impressively, to retain its hold on a college football playoff spot.
After taking Purdue to last season’s Big Ten Championship game, Louisville coach Jeff Brohm is the first coach in NCAA history to take two different teams to league title games in successive seasons.
Louisville has allowed only one first-quarter touchdown all season and has held 16 straight opponents scoreless on their opening possession.
Florida State is one of five remaining unbeaten teams in FBS. It is 12-0 for the fourth time in school history and finished an unbeaten regular season for the seventh time in school history.
FSU is playing in the ACC Championship game for the sixth time but first since 2016. The Seminoles are 4-1 in ACC title games. This will be Louisville’s first appearance in the ACC Championship game, or any conference championship game.
FSU has held every opponent this season below 30 points, a 12-game streak that is the longest in the country and third-longest in FBS.
Florida State has one of the nation’s best passing defenses, leading FBS in completion percentage allowed (47.6) and pass break-ups (67). They are the only team in the nation forcing more incompletions than completions allowed.
FSU leads the ACC in both scoring offense (38.8, 10th nationally) and scoring defense (16.8, 11th), and is the only team in the ACC and one of four nationally ranked in the top 12 in both categories.
The quote: Louisville coach Jeff Brohm on what the Cardinals expect from FSU’s quarterback situation: “I think that Tate, their backup, has come in and done a really good job. He's played a lot of football. He's got a football pedigree and background. He played last year against Louisville and won, and he's done a really good job. I'm sure behind that, they'll have capable guys that can come in and step in and play, but we're anticipating seeing Tate, and we prepared for him, and a little bit more the unknown, but you never know. I just think you have to be prepared for a couple different styles, whether it's a guy that likes to throw the ball a lot or whether it's a guy that's going to run the zone read and the power read and get on the edges and make some plays with his feet. So we have to be prepared for both of them.
The Pick: Florida State 21, Louisville 20.
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