Louisville @ Virginia preview
Scott Stadium
Bobby Petrino’s second go-round with Louisville is going about as smoothly as his first, although the coach’s recent success has come at home thus far. The Cardinals look to run the nation’s second-longest winning streak to nine games on Saturday at Virginia in their first road game as a member of the ACC. Petrino guided Louisville to a 41-9 record from 2003-06 before a short NFL stint led him to Arkansas, which fired him in 2011 due to an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.
Petrino, who spent last season with Western Kentucky after a year away from the game, was hired by Louisville after Charlie Strong departed for Texas and has the Cardinals off to their third 2-0 start in as many years after outscoring Miami (Fla.) and Murray State at home by a combined 97-34. Louisville has won six straight on the road, although its competition this weekend figures to be stiffer considering the Cavaliers pushed then-No.11 UCLA to the brink in its home opener two weeks ago. Virginia forced seven turnovers and ended a 10-game losing streak last week with a 45-13 rout of FCS foe Richmond.
TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: Louisville -6
ABOUT LOUISVILLE (2-0, 1-0 ACC): One game after Dominique Brown set a career high with 143 yards rushing in the Cardinals’ win over the Hurricanes, L.J. Scott was named ACC Rookie of the Week after rushing for a personal-best 126 yards. The Cardinals are allowing only 55.5 rushing yards through two games, 25.2 fewer than their top-ranked run defense yielded a season ago. The success of the ground game on both sides of the ball has overshadowed some of the passing game’s big-play shortcomings, as Louisville ranks 41st in the country in pass plays of 20-plus yards and 69th in pass plays of 30-plus yards.
ABOUT VIRGINIA (1-1, 0-0): In addition to being tied for second in the nation with nine takeaways, the Cavaliers also are tied for second in the country in tackles for loss (20) and 10th in sacks (eight). The turnovers are part of an impressive showing by the defense, which has yielded fewer points (20) than the offense (21) after the Bruins returned a pair of interceptions and a fumble for touchdowns. Quarterback Greyson Lambert is third in the country in completion percentage (76.3), but is still competing for snaps with Matt Johns, who put some heat on the starter with two touchdown tosses during a failed comeback attempt against UCLA.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Louisville’s six rushing touchdowns against Murray State last week tied for the fourth-best mark in school history.
2. Virginia is 0-6 when facing a new ACC member for the first time in conference play, dating back to 1979.
3. The Cardinals have converted six of their seven fourth-down opportunities in 2014.
PREDICTION: Louisville 24, Virginia 21