This time of year is often referred to as the “Dead Period.” We are approximately 65 days away from college football and there is not much else going on. For me, it’s the time of year where I start watching games from the previous season on Youtube and start searching the internet to see what other conference rivals are saying about their expectations for the upcoming season. I always go on vacation the first week of July and it’s my yearly tradition to pick up a college and NFL football magazine at the airport to read on the plane. It’s my time to start preparing for my preseason predictions and brush up on transactions and projections for fantasy football.
I have already started reading some material from conference rivals websites. One thing I have noticed is that most schools are aware and respect our offense but they have a lot of doubt about our defense. They are quick to point out that we lost our leading tackler in Keith Kelsey and that we have a new defensive coordinator. They also note that we return nine of eleven starters from a defense that ranked 31st in scoring defense and 37th in pass defense. I guess that is their way of looking at opportunities for them. I choose to look at the fact that the defense includes the best cover corner in the country (Jaire Alexander) and that Drew Bailey and Chris Williams are 2 of the best returning run stoppers in the country. Also, I believe that our defense will have the ACC defensive rookie of the year in C.J. Avery. Oh, and don’t forget about the return of one Trevon Young, who has 8.5 sacks in 2015 before his injury that kept him out all of 2016. It is also my belief that the defensive lapse in the last three games of last season was due to the defensive coordinator. That problem is gone and has been replaced with a coordinator on the rise. While I think that we are not a stepping stone program anymore and do not need to hire an up and comer, I’ll hold my judgement on the new coordinator and give him a chance to prove himself. The talent is there to succeed so I have confidence in this years defense.
Las Vegas posts a (over/under) regular season win total that you can wager on. That total is a pretty good indicator of how the season will turn out. Those guys in Vegas are really good. Louisville’s win total is projected at 9. I’ll tell you in a few weeks which side of that number I like when I post my preseason game by game projections.
Until then here are some interesting numbers from Vegas.
Sept 2nd – Louisville vs Purdue – Louisville is a 21.5 point favorite
Sept 16th – Louisville vs Clemson – Louisville is a 2 point favorite
Oct 21st – Louisville vs Florida St. – Florida St. is a 6.5 point favorite
Nov 25th – Louisville vs Kentucky – Louisville is a 8.5 point favorite
I found this interesting –Nov 11th – Clemson is favored over Florida St by 5 points
Here at a couple videos to help you get excited for the upcoming season. They are two of the best players to ever play at Louisville. Enjoy..
As Always, GO CARDS!
