Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

Spread check: Louisville by 33.

The Louisville men's soccer team hosts another top 10 showdown tomorrow night at 7 when 6th-ranked Indiana comes to Lynn Stadium. The Cards haven't lost since Sept. 6.

I forgot to mention this last week, but big thanks to all those who made this happen in LEO Weekly's 2016 Best of Louisville edition.

There are legitimately thousands of writers either from this city or living in this city who are much, much better than I am, but that doesn't make me appreciate the honor any less. CC also placed second in the "best website" and "best twitter account" categories, so another big thank you to everyone who voted.

Last week was full of cool stuff ... besides the lack of Louisville football.

The 8th-ranked Louisville field hockey team continued to build on its monster 2016 season with a 2-0 take down of No. 6 Northwestern on Sunday.

Bruce Feldman's latest Heisman top five for Fox Sports still has Lamar Jackson at No. 1, but Washington QB Jake Browning is breathing down his neck.

Clemson fans are, uh, not taking this in stride.

The Top 4 CFB teams in America according to FPI:

1) @UMichAthletics
2) @AlabamaFTBL
3) @UofLFootball
4) @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/J0ZQR7bUar

— ESPNU (@ESPNU) October 10, 2016

Virginia Tech is ahead of schedule under Justin Fuente, which means they are about to be a beast in the Coastal in the coming years. That will be something to talk about when we finally play them in 2037 or whenever.

Both of ESPN's bowl prognosticators have Louisville playing in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30. Mark Schlabach has the Cards taking on Tennessee, while Brett McMurphy predicts a matchup with Wisconsin.

Following in the footsteps of the NCAA announcing last year that it would be giving a stipend to the family of players playing in the Final Four to cover their travel, room and tickets, the College Football Playoff is doing the same thing this year for the families of players participating in the national semifinals and finals.

The NFL threatened to bench Antonio Brown if he didn't take off his Muhammad Ali tribute cleats, which is so, so stupid.

There are a limited number of Lamar leap shirts remaining.

To order yours, go here.

Everyone has Duke pegged as the runaway favorite to dominate the ACC in basketball this year, but some at ESPN think North Carolina could ruin the party.

The current U of L auctions give you an opportunity to purchase tickets to the next two home games, game balls, and other interesting Cardinal-related items.

Louisville City FC is the only independent club still standing in the USL playoffs.

The U of L women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 15 Clemson on Sunday.

Louisville stays at No. 2 in the ACC power rankings from ESPN.

1. Clemson: The Tigers were not going to lose to the Eagles, but credit Clemson for not even letting Boston College hang around. The game was over by the end of the first quarter despite it coming on short rest after the emotional Louisville win.

2. Louisville: The Cardinals' playoff chances took a bit of a hit during the bye week as Houston fell from the ranks of the undefeated in an upset loss to Navy. Louisville needed to be the one to beat Houston.

3. Virginia Tech: Not enough people are talking about the job Justin Fuente is doing in his first season in Blacksburg. The Hokies are rolling, and they just dismantled the reigning Coastal Division champion Tar Heels.

4. North Carolina: Saturday's setback against Virginia Tech was a tough home loss for the Tar Heels, who did not respond well to the rain and wind. They need some help to get back to the ACC title game, but this is still a talented group.

5. Florida State: FSU vs. Miami always seems to deliver a classic, and after so many heartbreaking losses when the rivalry was heating up, the Seminoles are starting to exact revenge. No one plays harder than DeMarcus Walker, and he possibly righted Florida State's season with his PAT block to secure a 20-19 victory.

The updated S&P Rankings from Bill Connelly have Louisville at No. 5 behind Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and Clemson.

USA Today ranks all 128 FBS teams and has Louisville at No. 6.

Rutgers has been a predictable disaster in every facet since joining the Big 10. The latest chapter of that disaster came Saturday when the Scarlet Knights lost to Michigan, 78-0. Here are the 15 saddest photos from that game.

For the first time in 17 years, Alabama-Tennessee will be a top 10 showdown.

Fall is cool.

Fall in Eastern Kentucky pic.twitter.com/NTvukY9Oni

— Andrew Cassady (@ACassady_KSR) October 9, 2016

Tomorrow is the deadline to register to vote in the state of Kentucky and be eligible to vote in next month's elections ... just in case you wanted to write-in Lamar Jackson or Damion Lee for every race.

It might not be fair, but the biggest obstacle between Lamar Jackson and the Heisman Trophy might be Jackson's attempt to match his own production from the first five weeks of the season.

He's wearing red though.

@CardChronicle my Die hard UK fan, friend is mad. I mean how could I not?! pic.twitter.com/gs5VZQgoUt

— Liz Costello (@EACNYY) October 7, 2016

A large crowd of Major League scouts turned out for Louisville baseball's pro day over the weekend.

Elvis Dumervil, whose parents hail from Haiti, is stepping up to help the country, but he could use your help.

Lamar Jackson didn't play last week, but I still think he deserved an ACC award.

I've made my feelings about the Cubs well known, but knowing there are lots of good U of L fans who are thrilled about what's happening right now makes it a little easier to stomach.

Representing at the Cubs game @CardChronicle #GoCubsGo #FlyTheW pic.twitter.com/anhFxPDDFp

— Patrick (@POMurphyPharmD) October 9, 2016

Louisville native Bryson Tiller has been nominated for three American Music Awards.

Shakin' the Southland attempts to argue that DeShaun Watson outplayed Lamar Jackson and that Ben Boulware did nothing wrong. I disagree vehemently with both assertions, as does seemingly everyone outside the state of South Carolina.

Campus Insiders is the first to serve up a prediction for Friday night.

Louisville vs. Duke Prediction

This may not be pretty if you're a Duke fan. Which Blue Devils squad will show up? The one that came back to beat Notre Dame on the road, or the one that turned it over six times in a home loss to Virginia? It likely will be something in between, which will still lead to a Cards blowout victory.

Louisville vs. Duke Score Prediction: Louisville 45, Duke 20

A year after winning an ACC championship, the Cardinal volleyball team continues to struggle.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum says Houston's lost to Navy has ended Louisville's hopes of crashing the College Football Playoff, which I don't agree with. It certainly didn't help, but we're only halfway home, and crazy sh-t happens in the final seven weeks of every college football season.

Bill Everett of "The Crestview Bulletin" is my new favorite college football writer in America, just because of his header art.

He doesn't exactly say why, but he thinks the Cards get a closer text than expected this week.

Duke Blue Devils vs. Louisville Cardinals: The birds fly high in this game — way too fast for the Blue Devils to keep up. Cardinals only by 12.

I've never argued with Bill before, and I'm not sure as hell not going to start now.

Busting Brackets says Rick Pitino's Louisville team is poised to be a top five squad in the ACC.

Lamar Jackson is again No. 1 on Campus Insiders' Heisman watch.

And finally, R&R is reacting to the weekend that was and kicking off Duke week today from 3-6 on 93.9 The Ville. Listen here.