What national college football experts are saying ahead of big games for Louisville, UK
No. 25 Louisville (5-0, 3-0 ACC) and No. 20 Kentucky (5-0, 2-0 SEC) are underdogs Saturday night in two significant games for the Bluegrass State's signature football programs.
The Cards are set to play No. 11 Notre Dame (5-1) in front of a capacity crowd. Kentucky is scheduled to face top-ranked Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC).
Though Cards and Cats fans are hoping for upsets, how are the teams viewed nationally? Do they have any chance against the Fighting Irish and the Bulldogs? Glad you asked.
For U of L's game against Notre Dame, Matt Barrie of ESPN and former coach Dan Mullen like the Cardinals' chances. "I like Louisville (+6.5) to cover and upset Notre Dame at home," Barrie wrote.
Mullen, an ESPN football analyst, is high on U of L coach Jeff Brohm.
"It's that Week 3 game where you gotta go three in a row; this is gonna be a tough one for Notre Dame, and we know this. Jeff Brohm, I think, is one of the most underrated coaches in college football, and every year he gets somebody. Every year you watch him, he comes out and gets somebody. It is set up for Louisville to win this game at home against Notre Dame that no one expects them to win," Mullen said on "The Matt Barrie Show."
Mullen was not as confident about Kentucky's chances against the two-time defending national champions.
"For Kentucky to have a chance, Devin Leary is going to have to make some plays," said Mullen, who did not make a prediction.
The Courier Journal scanned the internet for other predictions for the Louisville and Kentucky games.
FoxSports predicted a 27-26 victory for UK and a 30-21 victory for the Fighting Irish.
Besides FoxSports, Bruce Marshall of CBS Sports was the most confident Wildcats backer that The Courier Journal found. Marshall didn't predict a UK victory, though. He said Kentucky would cover the 14.5-point spread and hit the under (49).
According to BetMGM, its winning team model is 68.3% confident that Notre Dame will win. The same model predicted the Fighting Irish will cover the spread with 51.4% confidence.
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic predicted Georgia will top Kentucky, 37-20, and Notre Dame will defeat Louisville, 28-14.
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic said the Bulldogs will defeat the Wildcats, 35-17, and Notre Dame will edge U of L, 30-21.
Bleacher Report said the Fighting Irish will eclipse the Cards, 31-24. It also predicted a 24-10 Georgia victory over the Cats.
The ESPN sports betting team said the Bulldogs will cover the spread. Sports Illustrated said its sportsbook is predicting Notre Dame to win and cover the spread (+6.5), money line (-250) and the under. Sports Illustrated's College Football Index picked Georgia, too.
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: College football predictions: Louisville vs Notre Dame, UK vs Georgia
