Mar 8, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Bobby Petrino speaks during a press conference at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
No. 4 Louisville Cardinals
In most ACC power rankings, the Louisville Cardinals are projected to finish third in the Atlantic in their first ACC season. And while that is certainly a possibility, there are a few reasons why I think that projection is slightly off-base.
The main thing is they need to replace a lot of talent in 2014. Charlie Strong may have bailed at the perfect time, because he would have had a rebuilding effort on his hands this season, and a down year could have hurt his future prospects.
Everyone knows about Teddy Bridgewater’s departure, but Louisville also has to replace two first-round draft picks on defense in S Calvin Pryor and DE Marcus Smith, along with third-round pick LB Preston Brown.
That is a lot to replace from one defense and, while many expect their offense to perform well under new/old head coach Bobby Petrino, it isn’t a sure thing. Not only do they need to replace Bridgewater, they also need to adapt to an entirely new system. Petrino’s offenses are often prolific, but he is going to have to build his offense around a group of guys who were recruited to do play in a completely different system.
And of course, there is the No. 3 team in this Power Ranking to contend with. Those two teams played together in the Big East and the last time they played, in 2012, Bridgewater and the Cardinals got smacked around, 45-26.