Tuesday morning Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 25.

WE’RE BACK, BABY. ACTUAL GAMES TO TALK ABOUT ARE HERE AGAIN. BULLSHITTING SEASON IS BEHIND US ONCE MORE.

I get really excited when the spread check comes back to news and notes. I’m not going to apologize for that.

—Purdue’s starting quarterback on Saturday could wind up being a game-time decision, and not by design.

Reigning Big Ten passing leader David Blough (295 of 517 for 3,352 yards, 25 touchdowns and 21 interceptions last season) suffered a sprained right shoulder diving for the pylon during an Aug. 12 scrimmage. The junior only returned to practice on Sunday.

First-year coach and former Louisville and assistant Jeff Brohm said Monday that he hopes Blough will be the starter Saturday night. The staff will evaluate Blough's ability to pass without pain before making a decision. If Blough is not ready, sophomore Elijah Sindelar, who completed 14 of 32 passes for 165 yards and three interceptions in limited 2016 action, will be the starter.

Brohm said the injury leaves some uncertainty for Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, whose Cardinals were 9-4 last season. Purdue was 3-9.

"David was having a great camp," Brohm said. "Unfortunately, David missed two weeks after the injury, but he looked good Sunday. In the meantime, Elijah has practiced well. We feel very good about both guys. ... With that being said, even before David's injury, we planned to play more than one quarterback."

—Montrezl Harrell and Chane Behanan made some waves on Sunday by stating on social media that they had been informed they could no longer work out at U of L. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise, as both players had been informed earlier this summer that U of L had to “disassociate” from them because they failed to cooperate with the NCAA. The C-J has more.

—The ninth-ranked U of L men’s soccer team took down No. 25 Butler 1-0 Monday night at Lynn Stadium. Tim Kubel’s first half goal moved the Cards to 2-0-0 on the young season.

—The latest twist in the Mitchell Robinson saga is that the 5-star big man has returned to Bowling Green and now plans to play for Western Kentucky this season again.

—ESPN has Louisville at No. 4 in its preseason ACC power rankings.

4. Louisville Cardinals

Yes, Lamar Jackson is still a human highlight reel. But beyond that, how much do we really know about Louisville? There’s a new defensive coordinator with a new scheme. The top three receivers and leading running back from last season are gone. And, of course, there’s that offensive line, which was arguably the worst unit in the country down the stretch last season. If the 2017 Cardinals resemble the team we saw last September, it’s going to be a fun year in the Atlantic Division. If they look like the one we saw in November, it’s going to be a long year for Bobby Petrino.

Florida State, Clemson and Miami sit in front of the Cardinals.

—Jeff Greer says the 2017-18 Louisville basketball season represents Anas Mahmoud’s big chance.

—Love it.

—The U of L women’s cross country team is ranked second in the preseason Southeast Regional Rankings.

—Romeo Langford’s father says his son is down to seven schools — Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina and ... Vanderbilt. Noteworthy to see Duke not on that list.

—I enjoyed this oral history of Jim Harbaugh’s appearance on Saved by the Bell.

—Should have been No. 1.

You can’t show me a better sign.

—Promising 6’9 forward Taurean Thompson has withdrawn from Syracuse and could wind up at Seton Hall. That’s a big deal for both programs.

—The U of L women’s basketball program has announced that the Cards will face perennial powerhouse Connecticut on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

—Lamar Jackson and Jaire Alexander make ESPN’s preseason All-ACC team.

—Very excited for our man Eric Wood, who has signed a 2-year extension with Buffalo.

—The LSU-BYU game that had been scheduled to take place in Houston this weekend has been moved to the Superdome.

—The U of L women’s soccer team fell to 3-1 on the season with a 2-0 loss to Marquette on Sunday.

—Purdue’s beat writer gives us five things to know about the Boilermakers in advance of Saturday night’s game.

VETERANS ON DEFENSE

Brohm hasn’t wavered in his praise of the defense.

He’s been pleased with the consistency the group has shown during training camp and believes the front seven can be a strength, using an attacking and aggressive approach run by co-defensive coordinator Nick Holt.

If the defense is going to carry the load, it starts at linebacker. The Boilermakers will likely play four a majority of the time. Ja’Whaun Bentley, Markus Bailey, Danny Ezechukwu and McCollum bring experience and talent to the position.

The defensive line, led by Gelen Robinson’s move from end to tackle, along with Eddy Wilson give the unit bulk upfront.

—The latest edition of the Forde-Yard Dash says the list of best current college football rivalries does not include Alabama-Auburn.

—Details for this season’s Bobby Petrino radio show series can be found here. The first show will be Wednesday.

—Go Cards. Go Lamar. Go Dublin.

—South Florida won its season-opener on Saturday, but special teams were once again a major issue for a Charlie Strong-coached team.

—It was a huge weekend for the ninth-ranked U of L field hockey team, which took down third-ranked and defending national champion Delaware.

—On a related note, congratulations to Marisa Martin Pelegrina on being named ACC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week and teammate Hollyn Barr on being tabbed Defensive Player of the Week.

—U of L commit Javian Hawkins remains faster than most other human beings.

—A trio of NC State running backs are expected to share the load in the Pack’s season-opener against South Carolina this weekend.

—College hoops website Three Man Weave has Louisville at No. 10 in its preseason countdown.

—This might be my new Facebook profile picture.

—The U of L volleyball season started with losses to No. 7 Wisconsin and Minnesota in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge over the weekend.

—Hammer and Rails gives us the essentials for Saturday’s game in Indianapolis.

—U of L QB commit Jordan Travis had a big Friday night.

—New college football site The All-American debuted Monday and has Louisville at No. 15 in its ranking of all 130 FBS teams.

—Purdue’s official website is out with its preview of Saturday’s game.

—But the holding Max like a baby picture never came ...

—Bobby Petrino repeated his belief on Monday that Lamar Jackson has “improved across the board.”

—Gobbler Country has Louisville at No. 3 in its ACC power rankings.

—And finally, here’s the recap from U of L of Monday’s press conferences.