The Florida State Seminoles (-6) are set to take on their ACC foe Louisville Cardinals at Cardinal Stadium. ESPN2 owns the TV rights and kickoff will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Florida State Seminoles
In this Saturday Atlantic Coast game, Florida State is tabbed as the favorite and is currently giving up 6 points. The Seminoles are also receiving -240 moneyline odds while the Cardinals are +190. If one team can create a bunch of points early, it’ll likely generate a nice in-game betting opportunity.
The game’s opening line was initially set at 6 and has moved a bit recently.
The less-than-stellar Seminoles have lost 4.0 units so far and are 1-3 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an Over-Under record of 2-2.
The Cardinals have lost 1.0 unit this season. The team is 0-4 ATS and has an O/U record of 1-3.
The Seminoles are 2-2 straight up (SU), including 0-2 SU against ACC opponents. The Cardinals are 2-2 SU overall and 0-1 SU in conference play.
The Seminoles are coming off a resounding 37-19 win over Northern Illinois last week. The defensive unit did its part in the win, keeping the Huskies to just 215 passing yards and 6 yards on the ground. D.J. Brown had a good day for the Huskies in that one with 117 yards and a score on seven catches. Offensively, Deondre Francois completed 23-of-31 passes for 352 yards, two scores and one interception. Cam Akers (only 64 yards on 22 rush attempts, one TD) and Jacques Patrick (56 yards on 16 carries) led the running attack in the win while Keith Gavin (six receptions, 93 yards) and Nyqwan Murray (five catches, 85 yards) handled the receiving duties.
One week ago, Virginia knocked off this Louisville crew by a score of 27-3. The Cards defense allowed the Cavaliers to eat up the clock by rushing for 204 yards on 39 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Jordan Ellis had a good showing in the win, recording 68 rushing yards on 20 attempts for Virginia. As a group, the Cards collectively completed 16-of-28 passes for 148 yards and two interceptions. Jawon Pass went 10-for-19 for 113 yards and one interception while Malik Cunningham was six-of-nine for 35 yards and one interception. Malik Cunningham (26 yards on 10 rush attempts) mounted the ground game in the defeat as Dez Fitzpatrick (five receptions, 62 yards) and Smith (three catches, 25 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Florida State has run the ball on 48.8 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Louisville has a rush percentage of 54.4 percent. The Seminoles have rushed for 102.8 yards per game (including 78.0 per game against Atlantic Coast opponents) and have four scores via handoffs this year. The Cards are averaging 121.3 rushing yards per game and have four total rush TDs.
The Noles offensive scheme has averaged 270.8 yards through the air overall (205.5 per game versus conference opposition) and has five passing TDs so far. The Cards have produced 163.0 pass yards per contest and have three total pass scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, Florida State has allowed 97.5 rush yards and 279.0 pass yards per game. The Louisville defense has allowed 197.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 192.0 yards per game on the ground. The Noles are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 5.99 to opposing QBs, while the Cards have given up a 7.02 ANY/A.
Offensively, Francois is up to 905 passing yards this season. He’s completed 68 percent of his 112 attempts with five scores through the air and four interceptions. Francois has a 6.42 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 5.90 over the last two outings.
Keith Gavin (158 receiving yards on the year), Cam Akers (222 rush yards, one rush TD) and Nyqwan Murray (200 receiving yards) have each played big roles lately.
Malik Cunningham has managed to complete 12-of-16 passes for 110 yards, one TD and one INT for Louisville. His ANY/A stands at a terrible 3.89 for the season and 2.62 over his past two games.
Expect Cunningham to attack all areas of the Florida State secondary. Malik Cunningham (zero receiving yards), Dez Fitzpatrick (102 receiving yards), and Jaylen Smith (86 receiving yards, one TD) have collectively notched 147 receiving yards over the last couple of games.
When these two squads faced each other a year ago, Louisville won by a field goal 31-28.
Florida State Seminoles at Louisville Cardinals NCAA Tip
SU Winner: Florida State, ATS Winner: Florida State
Betting Trends
- Florida State was favored by 10 points in its previous game and the Over/Under going into it was 46. The over cashed and Florida State covered in the 37-19 victory over Northern Illinois.
- As a team, Florida State has produced 2.75652173913043 yards per carry over its past three games and 2.3 over its last two.
- Louisville has averaged 4.5 yards per carry over its last three outings and 4.0 over its past two.
- The Louisville offense has lost two fumbles this season while Florida State has lost six.
- Over its last three matches, Florida State is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- Louisville was favored by 5 points in its last outing and the O/U going into it was 53.5. The under cashed and Louisville failed to cover in the 27-3 defeat to Virginia.
- Over its last three matches, Louisville is 0-3 ATS and the under cashed in each of those three.
- Each team has produced one pass play of 40+ yards. The Seminoles have have made 10 pass plays of 30+ yards while the Cardinals have accounted for four such plays.
- The Florida State defense has allowed five pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Louisville has given up two such plays.
- Both teams have produced three rushing plays of 20 or more yards. The Florida State offense has recorded 14 running plays of 10+ yards while Louisville has accounted for 26 such plays.
- The Seminoles defense has allowed three rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Cardinals have given up four such runs.
- The Florida State defensive unit has sacked opposing QBs 10 times this season. Louisville has registered six sacks.
