Matt F@rgo
Louisville Cardinals v/s Pittsburgh Panthers 11/8/2008 12:05:00 pm Predicted Winner: Pittsburgh Panthers
Louisville Cardinals at Pittsburgh Panthers 12:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh Panthers -6 -110
**9** Big East Conference Game of the Year Louisville could not have had a worse loss than the one last week in Syracuse. It was the second straight season that the Orange defeated the Cardinals and while a loss like that can normally fire up a team the following week, it will be the opposite this week against the Panthers. This is not a very good team and its 5-3 record is skewed because of a soft schedule played thus far. The best team it has played thus far is between Connecticut and Kentucky and both of those games resulted in home losses.
The Panthers are coming off a hard fought four-overtime victory over Notre Dame but they are not going to lay down here. That out of conference win was nice but Pittsburgh is more concerned about the Big East Conference right now and sitting a game behind West Virginia means this is a must win to keep pace. The Panthers have two week after this to get ready for their game at Cincinnati so there is no chance for a lookahead, only for a full out effort.
The loss in Syracuse last weekend should have been the fifth straight road loss for the Cardinals dating back to last season. A win in Memphis should never have happened as they were outgained by 182 yards. Louisville has now been outgained in three of its last four games and was outrushed for just the second time this season. That was against a team that cannot rush the ball nor stop the run and it now faces a team that can do both, something it has not seen much of this season.
Pittsburgh is 48th in the nation in rushing offense and 43rd in rushing defense. Those rankings are nothing special but they show balance and that is the key here. The Cardinals allowed 126 rushing yards combined in their first three games but they have given up 121.2 ypg over their last five games and that includes allowing just eight yards against South Florida. Pittsburgh has rushed for at least 138 yards in each of its last five games, putting up 189.4 ypg over that stretch. 9*Pittsburgh Panthers
Louisville Cardinals v/s Pittsburgh Panthers 11/8/2008 12:05:00 pm Predicted Winner: Pittsburgh Panthers
Louisville Cardinals at Pittsburgh Panthers 12:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh Panthers -6 -110
**9** Big East Conference Game of the Year Louisville could not have had a worse loss than the one last week in Syracuse. It was the second straight season that the Orange defeated the Cardinals and while a loss like that can normally fire up a team the following week, it will be the opposite this week against the Panthers. This is not a very good team and its 5-3 record is skewed because of a soft schedule played thus far. The best team it has played thus far is between Connecticut and Kentucky and both of those games resulted in home losses.
The Panthers are coming off a hard fought four-overtime victory over Notre Dame but they are not going to lay down here. That out of conference win was nice but Pittsburgh is more concerned about the Big East Conference right now and sitting a game behind West Virginia means this is a must win to keep pace. The Panthers have two week after this to get ready for their game at Cincinnati so there is no chance for a lookahead, only for a full out effort.
The loss in Syracuse last weekend should have been the fifth straight road loss for the Cardinals dating back to last season. A win in Memphis should never have happened as they were outgained by 182 yards. Louisville has now been outgained in three of its last four games and was outrushed for just the second time this season. That was against a team that cannot rush the ball nor stop the run and it now faces a team that can do both, something it has not seen much of this season.
Pittsburgh is 48th in the nation in rushing offense and 43rd in rushing defense. Those rankings are nothing special but they show balance and that is the key here. The Cardinals allowed 126 rushing yards combined in their first three games but they have given up 121.2 ypg over their last five games and that includes allowing just eight yards against South Florida. Pittsburgh has rushed for at least 138 yards in each of its last five games, putting up 189.4 ypg over that stretch. 9*Pittsburgh Panthers
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