ESPN.com writer Mark Schlabach has released the 3rd edition of his Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25 for the 2013 college football season, and the Louisville Cardinals come in at #4! Read below what he says about the Cards…
4. Louisville Cardinals
Previous rank: 8
Is there a hotter athletics department in the country than Louisville right now? The Cardinals are coming off a 33-23 upset of Florida in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, a men’s basketball national championship and a trip to the women’s basketball Final Four. With 19 starters coming back in football, including Heisman Trophy candidate Teddy Bridgewater, the Cardinals are more than capable of duplicating last season’s success. Bridgewater picked up where he left off in the spring game, completing 16 of 20 passes for 214 yards. Louisville has added more weapons around him, including Florida transfers Robert Clark and Gerald Christianand tailback Dominique Brown, who sat out last season with a knee injury. The Cardinals might not be the country’s fourth-best team based on talent and depth, but which opponent is capable of unseating them in the depleted Big East? Louisville plays a soft nonconference schedule (Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky and Florida International) and its Big East road games will be played at Temple, South Florida, Connecticut and Cincinnati.