Charlie Strong up and left the Louisville Cardinals in a lurch last year, but the prodigal son of UL football, Bobby Petrino is back as the supposed savior. He didn't have the greatest first year in the world in the Commonwealth, but he beat teams like Notre Dame, Miami, and most importantly, Kentucky, giving him and the Cards something to build upon in 2015.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: at Auburn
9/12: vs. Houston
9/17: vs. Clemson
9/26: vs. Samford
10/3: at NC State
10/17: at Florida State
10/24: vs. Boston College
10/30: at Wake Forest
11/7: vs. Syracuse
11/14: vs. Virginia
11/21: at Pittsburgh
11/28: at Kentucky
Though the end of this schedule isn't all that difficult, the Cardinals do have a tremendous first month and a half of the campaign with road games against Auburn, NCSU and Florida State along with a home game against Clemson. All of those games are losable, and it's entirely plausible that this team is 2-4.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
Because of the horrendous start to this schedule, it shouldn't be surprising that the season win total for the Cardinals is only seven. Remember too that this is a team with just 11 returning starters and one projected senior starter on offense, which will really hurt Petrino's rebuilding efforts in Year 2 of his second stint at UL.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
We've already mentioned some of the offensive problems in terms of lack of experience, but the big issue is going to be at the quarterback position. Will Gardner has been given the chance to compete for this job, but the fact of the matter is that the future is Reggie Bonnafon.
Bonnafon played at the end of last year, and though he didn't put up stunning numbers (864 yards on 120 pass attempts with a 5/4 TD/INT ratio), he did win games.
Whoever is under center will get the benefit of getting back last season's leading rusher, Brandon Radcliff, who had 12 rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.1 yards per carry.
Still, DeVante Parker meant a ton to this offense, and now that he and Eli Rogers are both gone, we're not sure where the ball is going to end up when it is thrown.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
That Louisville defense was stout last season, playing tremendously well in losses to Clemson and Virginia along with holding six different foes to less than 20 points.
However, much of that defense is gone at this point.
Sheldon Rankins and Pio Vatuvei will help make up a strong defensive line, but beyond that, there just isn't a lot here. Charles Gaines and James Sample both have All-ACC potential, but neither one has hit that potential yet in their careers.
SEASON PREDICTION
The Cards could see an opening this year in the ACC, knowing that Bonnafon could end up being the real deal. Florida State is down, and even though the game between those two this season is in Tallahassee, it does come off of a UL bye week. Clemson is drawn at home.
That said, we still think the potential floor of fourth or fifth in the ACC Atlantic Division is much more likely than the ceiling of winning the conference.
If you're that much of a believer in Bonnafon, you could sneak in a lotto ticket on the Cardinals at 150 to 1, but for a team which isn't going to start off the year ranked and is a heavy underdog in Week 1 against Auburn, it's pretty conceivable that any hope for a National Championship will be gone after just one game.
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