Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

Spread check (football): Louisville by 24.

Rivalry week kicked off today with Kentucky's fan media going apeshit about a rule that Louisville has had in place since day one of the season that no other team has complained about. Leave it to LBA to look at the same thing as the rest of the world and see something different.

Louisville is No. 6 in Jeff Goodman's new college basketball power rankings for ESPN.

6. Louisville Cardinals
Record: 3-0
Last week's ranking: 5

OK, who would have guessed that the Cards' leading scorer and rebounder through the first three games would be junior forward Jaylen Johnson, who averaged 5.0 points and 3.5 boards last season? Johnson is putting up 15.3 points and 11.3 rebounds thus far, but the concern is that Rick Pitino's team has struggled from deep (20-for-63) and also from the line (61 percent).

Indiana is No. 1.

The Baltimore Sun says that Louisville failing its two biggest tests of the season was one of the 10 things college football fans learned in week 12.

As expected, Louisville is off the board when it comes to Bovada's national championship odds. What you might not have expected is that Bovada is now no longer listing Heisman odds because the race is such a runaway.

Here's the new release:

Odds to Win the 2017 CFP National Championship

Team                  11/14/16            Current Odds (11/21/16)

Alabama                       1/1                    5/7

Ohio State                    5/2                    11/4

Clemson                       10/1                  15/2

Michigan                       10/1                  12/1

Washington                   33/1                  16/1

Wisconsin                     20/1                  16/1

Oklahoma                     25/1                  25/1

Colorado                      66/1                  40/1

Penn State                    66/1                  40/1

Oklahoma State            66/1                  50/1

Florida                          75/1                  66/1

Houston                        Off the Board    100/1

Louisville                      15/2                  Off the Board

Utah                             66/1                  Off the Board

Washington State          66/1                  Off the Board

West Virginia                 50/1                  Off the Board

****Note: The Heisman odds are currently off the board as the odds are astronomical in favor for Lamar Jackson. The Oddsmakers are currently in discussions on if they'll be re-opened.

U of L is the latest victim of ESPN's weekly eliminator feature.

Louisville is No. 9 in the latest hoops power rankings from C.J. Moore of Bleacher Report.

Record: 3-0

Previous rank: 11

The Cardinals have played three decent mid-major programs (Evansville, William & Mary and Long Beach State) and are winning by an average of 32 points.

We'll get a better idea of Louisville's potential after a Nov. 30 game against Purdue, but it's safe to assume Rick Pitino's team is going to once again be elite on the defensive end.

The Cards are allowing just 73.6 points per 100 possessions thus far with a roster full of length and athleticism. That's a recipe that usually allows Pitino's teams to take care of business against lesser competition. The ceiling for this team depends on the offensive end after losing its top three scorers. It's way too soon to draw any conclusions there.

A player named Sandy Cohen has been granted his release by Marquette. I don't care that he was sort of an average player for the Golden Eagles, his name is Sandy Cohen and I need him on Louisville so that I can make all of The OC jokes.

Michigan State, which may no longer even be the favorite to make it out of the other side of the Battle 4 Atlantis bracket, got some help from its clock operator last night to avoid a home upset at the hands of Dunk City.

Michigan State’s clock operator totally botched the final seconds against Florida Gulf Coast https://t.co/hUFke9h0iC https://t.co/FRLltGnme7

— SB Nation CBB (@SBNationCBB) November 21, 2016

With Charlie Strong's firing imminent, Pete Thamel looks at what's next for Texas and everyone else on the coaching carousel.

Louisville is still No. 12 in the CBS college hoops rankings.

Kanye West won't be in Louisville the day before the UK basketball game after all.

Remaining dates on the Kanye West tour have been canceled. This includes 12/20 performance at KFC Yum! Center. Refunds at point of purchase.

— KFC Yum! Center (@kfc_yumcenter) November 21, 2016

U of L stays at No. 2 in ESPN's ACC power rankings.

There's still this.

Louisville is ranked #1 in total offense and #7 in total defense in the FBS. No other team is ranked in the top 17 in both categories.

— Kelly Dickey (@RealCardGame) November 21, 2016

Limiting the impact that the Heisman Trophy has on Lamar Jackson isn't something the Cardinals had planned on being an issue heading into the season, but here they are.

CBS' bowl projections have Louisville facing Michigan in the Orange Bowl.

And finally, Rick Pitino joins us on this afternoon's R&R and takes a beautiful shot at my final question before heading off to the Bahamas. Listen here.