si
Louisville and Georgia Tech will meet under the lights at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the game broadcast on the ACC Network. The Cardinals (5-3, 4-2) carry a three-game winning streak into the matchup, while the Yellow Jackets (2-6, 1-4) have dropped their last three contests. DraftKings lists Louisville as a 14.5-point favorite, a line that has remained steady.
Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm is pursuing his 100th career victory as a college football coach. Brohm has accumulated 30 wins at Western Kentucky, 36 at Purdue, and 33 during his current tenure with the Cardinals.
On the injury front, Louisville announced Wednesday night that offensive lineman Anwar ONeal and wide receiver Lawayne McCoy will be unavailable. McCoy is expected to miss multiple weeks. Running back Isaac Brown was downgraded to questionable after a career-best four-touchdown performance in last week's 52-24 win over Stanford.
The Cardinals should be able to dictate the game with their ground attack and simplified reads for quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, whose primary task will be distributing the ball to playmakers. Louisville averages 6.25 yards per carry this season, the second-highest mark in the FBS. Over the past three games, the Cardinals have rushed for 272 yards and at least four touchdowns per contest.
Georgia Tech's run defense ranks 134th nationally, surrendering 219.3 yards per game, and allows 30.8 points per game (116th). During the Yellow Jackets' three-game skid, they have given up 34 or more points in each outing.
The glaring weakness for Louisville's defense has been its secondary's tendency to allow explosive pass plays. Stanford scored all three of its touchdowns last week on passes of 40 yards or more. Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza, an Indiana transfer, has endured his share of struggles this season. In a 34-11 loss to Pittsburgh last game, he completed 16 of 25 passes for 81 yards and was sacked five times. The brother of last season's Heisman Trophy winner has a season-long pass play of 46 yards, a mark Louisville cannot afford to see broken.
Georgia Tech ranks 111th nationally with 2.62 sacks allowed per game. Louisville generated pressure in its last road game, sacking Syracuse quarterbacks five times and recording 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Yellow Jackets' offensive line is banged up, with four players listed as out on the injury report.
Georgia Tech's strength lies in its kick return game. Rahkeem Smith leads the ACC with 28.1 yards per return. Running back Justice Haynes, one of the holdovers from a team that went 9-4 a season ago, has carried 112 times for 548 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 4.9 yards per attempt.
With McCoy sidelined, Louisville offensive coordinator Brian Brohm made a point of involving Tre Richardson last week. The senior speedster caught 10 passes for 140 yards and took four quick pitches for 49 yards in the win over Stanford. Richardson has touched the ball 50 times this season, with 28 of those plays gaining 10 yards or more. His three touchdowns have covered 30, 62, and 38 yards.
Kienholz is expected to deliver one of his strongest performances of the season, with his running ability on full display given Brown's questionable status. Through eight games, Kienholz has rushed for 313 yards and 11 touchdowns. He joins Gio Lopez of Wake Forest and Sam Levitt of LSU as the only quarterbacks in the country with 2,000 passing yards and 300 rushing yards this season.
The two programs have met four times as conference foes, with each team winning twice. Brohm is 2-0 against the Yellow Jackets, including a 39-34 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in his first game as Louisville coach in 2023 and a 31-19 triumph in Louisville the following season. In the latter victory, defensive back Tayon Holloway returned a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter to seal the outcome at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
Key Analysis
Louisville appears poised to put together a complete performance on both sides of the ball. During its current win streak, the offense has been a wrecking ball, averaging 43 points and 503 yards per game. The defense is projected to force two turnovers and prevent Mendoza from connecting on deep passes. A final score prediction of Louisville 49, Georgia Tech 7 reflects the disparity between the teams.
Creighton is a well-known sports media personality and die-hard University of Louisville Cardinals fan. He serves as producer for The Deener Show (weekdays 7-10 AM) on ESPN 680/105.7 FM and 93.9 The Ville, delivering sharp sports talk and daily Cardinals coverage alongside Drew Deener and Mark Blankenbaker. Follow CreightonHarley.