Deposit Instantly Using Your Credit Card at Sportsbook.com!

2008 Louisville College Football Picks & Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

The offense has been carrying the load in Louisville for the past few seasons, but with Brian Brohm moving on the NFL, that might not be the case this year. A defense which returns just four starters will have its struggles as well. What the Cards have going for them is eight home games. Find out if Louisville will be able to make the most of a favorable schedule with the college football predictions in Jimmy Boyd’s 2008 Louisville Cardinals season preview. The betting line on Louisville is 16-1 odds to win the Big East at BodogLife.com.

Offense

Senior QB Hunter Cantwell ensures that the Cards will not have to throw a freshman to the wolves. He will be an immediate leader and a solid player, but he is no Brian Brohm, who rewrote the Louisville record books. With Harry Douglas and NFL early entry Mario Urrutia gone, along with tight ends Gary Barnidge and Scott Kuhn, the receiving corps is looking mighty thin and unaccomplished. Head coach Steve Kragthorpe may have to rely more heavily on the running game because of this dilemma. But he lost top tailback Anthony Allen, who transferred to Middle Tennessee. A solid line, led by All- Big East center Eric Wood and tackle George Bussey will help give Cantwell a chance to make plays.

Defense

The Cards return just four starters from a defense which ranked 91st in points allowed last season. If the Cards hope to improve, Miami linebacker transfer James Bryant will have to be a huge factor. The Cards will depend on him to be the anchor of a unit with no returning starters. Also, Michigan transfer James McKinney returned home to Louisville to shore up the defensive front. The defensive line returns the most experience with ends Maurice Mitchell and L.D. Scott coming back as well as tackle Earl Heyman. Heyman led the Cards with four sacks in 2007 and will be the leader of the defense. The fact that four sacks led this team tells us that Louisville must do a better job of getting to the passer. The ends must especially be good this season to help out a secondary which ranked 87th in the country in passing yards allowed per game. Look for strong safety Bobby Buchanan to be the leader in the secondary.

Special Teams

The Cards must replace Art Carmody, who has been one of the best place kickers in college football. Purdue transfer Tim Dougherty has the inside track to do so. Corey Goettsche returns as punter. He needs to improve on his 38.9 yards per punt average. The Cards only averaged 6.7 yards per punt return in 2007 so they must search and search until they find a big play threat. Trent Guy is the early favorit.

Prediction – 6th Big East

Having Brohm under center gave the Cards a chance to win every game last season. His absence, along with the absence of those in the receiving corps, will take the zap out of the offense. Eight home games will give the Cards a shot at a .500 record, but they’ll likely be on the wrong side of that mark, which leaves them ahead of Cincinnati and Syracuse but behind Rutgers and Connecticut. Louisville is listed at 100-1 odds to win the BCS Championship.

Quit guessing and start investing with world champion handicapper Jimmy Boyd. His college football picks are second to none in the industry and it won’t take you long to find out for yourself. Beat the college football odds all season long with the industry’s college sports leader.

Want to win more with your football betting this year? Then look no further than the experts at our site who release winning football picks week after week!

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in: