As of today, the football season will be played as scheduled. However, it’s very likely that Louisville will be playing some sort of conference only schedule. What will that look like? Not sure yet but let’s focus on the positive – football will be played.

Since the schedule will probably be altered we don’t want to give you a season will/loss prediction until we know exactly who and when they will play.

So, we are going to give you some bold, and not-so-bold,  predictions of things that the staff here at CSZ thinks will/might/could happen.

Higgy

• Tutu Atwell will lead the country in Receiving Yards.

• The Defense will be top 30 in country in total defense.

• Javian Hawkins will be top 5 in the country in rushing yard

Jeff Nunn

• Hassan Hall will lead the nation in kick return yard average.

• 5 of the 11 defensive freshman will start at least 1 game this season.

• Jawon Pass, Micale Cunningham, Evan Conley and Tutu Atwell will all have at least one touchdown pass this season.

Jeremy Wahman

• The Cards will lead the nation in turnover margin. The defense will be hungry and deep and ready to unleash on the opposition for all 60 minutes.

•  Javian Hawkins will be invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony. Will he have a shot to win? Sure. But an even bolder prediction will be that he wins the Heisman in 2021.

• Jawon Pass will start the first 2 out of 4 games. Depending on performance it could turn into more but never fear Micale fans because Satt will find a way to get the ball in his hands

Samuel Basden

• Yaya Diaby will have double digits TFLs and Sacks

• Both Hawkins and Hall will have over 800 yards rushing

• Justin Marshall will have over 30 receptions & over 500 yards receiving.

Shawn Barbour

• Chandler Jones will have at least 4 interceptions.

• Micale starts and completes all games.

• Jared Goldwire leads the team in sacks.

Ben Gumbel

• Jadarien Boykin will lead the team in sacks.

• Yasir Abdullah will be the most productive linebacker on the team.

• Micale Cunningham will finish top-10 in Heisman Trophy voting.

Dalton Pence

• Tutu Atwell will lead the nation in receiving yards. He ranked 8th last season (1276) and the only returning player higher than him is Ja’Marr Chase.

• Javian Hawkins will rush for over 1,500 yards again this season due to experience and overall offensive line improvement.

•  Chandler Jones will become one of the best defensive backs in the ACC, likely top-5 in interceptions with the conference

Cards Hive

• I predict that we will have a TRUE freshman among the team’s sack leaders with JaDarien Boykin. I don’t think he will get a majority of the snaps at DE but I think he will be out there in obvious passing situations. I think with his athletic ability and motor you could see him end up in the top 3 for total sacks on the year. Just top throw a number out there I predict he will have over 5 sacks on the year which last year would’ve tied for first but this upcoming season I expect there to be a couple guys who end up with 7-8+ sacks which could be a bold prediction in itself!

• My second bold prediction is that the secondary will go from second to last in the ACC in interceptions to top 5. We have a very talented CB trio in Chandler Jones, Anthony Johnson, and Marlon Character who just needed some polish from a great defensive mind like Bryan Brown to really reach their potential and I think another year with his coaching will only add onto what I think was a major step forward for that unit from a year before. 3 other major factors that I think will play into the increase in picks will be more pressure on the opposing QB, the addition of the talented Tre Clark from the transfer portal, and a fully healthy season from Isaiah Hayes. Expect the interception total to double from last season at least.

• My third and final prediction is that we will see the offensive line improve as a whole despite losing Becton and Haycraft. Last we were in the bottom 5 in the ACC in sacks given up but this coming up season I think we can finish in the top 5 in sacks given up. Last year we gave up 40 sacks due to a lack of depth but this year I think they knock that number down more to around 25. Boone, Reid, DeGeorge, and Brown all seem like more than good enough athletes to help replace our 2 veterans OTs on top of the already super experienced interior OL starters we will be bringing back in Chandler, Bell, and Bentley. I also expect Jackson Gregory, Joshua Black, and Luke Kandra to get rotated along the interior of the OL as well.