Miami Hurricanes vs. Louisville Cardinals Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 19th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Miami Hurricanes held a meeting exclusively for players a few days ago.
What makes this noteworthy is that the Hurricanes do not meet the typical criteria for players-only meetings. They have not been losing games, they are not recovering from a loss, and their coach is not facing scrutiny.
Instead, the sixth-ranked Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) are on a winning streak as they prepare to face Louisville (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday afternoon.
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Miami, led by Heisman Trophy hopeful Cam Ward at quarterback, has scored a minimum of 38 points in each game this season.
However, the Hurricanes had to come from behind in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech and overcome a 20-point deficit against Cal.
This week, the Hurricanes received positive news when it was announced that star left tackle Jalen Rivers will return from injury on Saturday for the first time since the season opener.
"He is fully cleared," stated Miami coach Mario Cristobal about Rivers.
Miami has won 11 of the 16 games in this series, but Louisville earned a 38-31 victory on the road last year. Miami has won five of the seven games played in Louisville, but the Cardinals have won four of the last six matchups.
The Cardinals, who had a 10-4 record last season and made it to the ACC championship game, reloaded this year by signing 15 high school recruits and bringing in 26 transfers.
Among the transfers are quarterback Tyler Shough and running back Donald Chaney Jr.
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Shough began his college career at Oregon, where he initially played behind current Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. In 2020, after Herbert left for the NFL, Shough won the starting job and led Cristobal's Ducks to the Pac-12 title.
However, Shough lost his starting position in the bowl game and transferred to Texas Tech before landing at Louisville.
This is Shough's seventh season in college, having played in 36 games. This season, he has completed 63.4% of his passes for 1,674 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Chaney, in his fifth college season, has rushed for 110 yards on 33 carries this season. He spent his first four seasons at Miami.
Louisville's leading rusher also has ties to Miami - true freshman Isaac Brown is from Homestead High. Brown leads the Cardinals in rushing yards (508), rushing average (8.6), and scrimmage yards (600).
On the defensive side, Louisville's standout player is defensive end Ashton Gillotte. Prior to this season, Gillotte was named by Lindy's magazine as the second-best NFL prospect in the ACC. He has recorded 24 sacks in 45 games, including 11 last season and two so far this year.
After consecutive losses to then-No. 16 Notre Dame and SMU, Louisville bounced back with a 24-20 win over Virginia last Saturday.
"It was a tough, blue-collar job," said Louisville coach Jeff Brohm.
The Hurricanes, coming off a bye week, lead the nation in scoring average (47.7 points per game). Ward leads the nation in passing yards (369.8), and Xavier Restrepo leads the ACC in receiving yards (585) with five touchdowns and an average of 18.3 yards per catch.
"We have a lot to prove," said Cristobal this week. "We have to approach the first half of the season with humility. Fortunately, we have some strong leaders."
This was evident during the players-only meeting this week.