Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Clemson by 24.

—Clemson’s 247 Sports site serves up 10 things to watch in Louisville-Clemson.

—Shakin’ the Southland writes about what Clemson fans should expect to see from Louisville on Saturday.

—ESPN’s Jeff Borzello looks at who’s rising and who’s stagnating among college basketball’s second year head coaches.

Chris Mack, Louisville Cardinals

While Memphis has more preseason hype, Mack has his team in the best position to make a run at a Final Four in Year 2. The Cardinals are a consensus top-10 team in the preseason, battling with Duke, North Carolina and Virginia at the top of the ACC. Taking over a scandal-scarred program last season, Mack and Louisville got off to a 16-5 start overall, 7-1 in the ACC. Things fell off after that, but with five players back who started 11 or more games and a top-10 recruiting class that includes four ESPN 100 prospects, there’s plenty of optimism for the Cards.

”We probably didn’t have enough ammunition to go through 30-something games and maybe finish off the season the way we would’ve liked,” Mack said. “And hopefully that leaves a bitter taste in our mouth; I know it does mine. And then to return the majority of our scoring and rebounding, and hopefully guys that can lend that experience ...

”When you add six new freshmen, you have an excitement as a coach. You also have those head-scratching moments, like what is this guy thinking? Being able to be the same guy day-to-day is tough for a freshman. Having 13 guys on scholarship, being as deep as we are, compared to a year ago, is a luxury.”

Mack will have to navigate a couple of injury issues; David Johnson and Malik Williams are both expected to miss the start of the season. But provided the newfound depth can help overcome their absences for a few weeks, Mack has Louisville positioned to make a deep run this season.

—Clemson’s offense appears to be hitting its stride just in time to take advantage of a struggling Louisville defense, writes TigerNet.

—Michael Felder and Chris Martin of Stadium do a great job explaining (video) Louisville football’s huge 2019 turnaround.

—The ACC Digital Network is profiling the league’s top returning hoopers. That list obviously includes Jordan Nwora.

—In a move that surprised no one, Devin Askew committed to Kentucky on ESPN last night.

—Juwan Howard has his first major recruiting land at Michigan in the form of 5-star forward Isaiah Todd.

—The Greenville News writes that Clemson will be facing a “new and improved” Louisville on Saturday.

“They got dudes,” Swinney said. “It’s not like they’re playing a bunch of freshmen. They’re playing seniors, juniors, some grad guys and several sophomores. This group has come in and you can see this team believes in them and they’ve connected with the team.

“They’ve found ways to win. Had a couple of games that weren’t pretty, but they found ways to win it and that’s a definite indication of what they’re doing from a coaching standpoint and the culture and hanging in there. I have a lot of respect for Scott and the way they do things and no doubt he’s going to build something special there in Louisville.”

Clemson will be seeking to extend its school record with a 22nd consecutive victory. The Tigers also have never lost to Louisville, having won all five previous meetings since the Cardinals joined the ACC in 2014.

—For the third consecutive year, the Louisville rowing team will compete in the prestigious 55th Head of the Charles Regatta on the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.

—Rubbing the Rock has five storylines to watch tomorrow afternoon inside Cardinal Stadium.

—The uprising remains in full swing.

—Cardinal Authority plays know the foe with Clemson.

—Buckethatism is still basking in the glow of the Wake Forest win.

—The State likes Clemson big on Saturday afternoon.

Prediction: Louisville should be able to score some points against a Clemson defense that is still one of the best in the nation but that is not as good as last year’s. When the Tigers have had issues this year it has been stopping the run, and Louisville has one of the best rushing offenses in the ACC. But the Cardinals won’t be able to get enough stops against Trevor Lawrence and company to make it a four-quarter game.

The pick: Clemson 56, Louisville 20

—U of L football is hosting four official visitors this weekend.

—Very cool story here on a J’Town football senior who is going to play in his first game tonight.

—Louisville.com lays out some things to do in the city this weekend.

—Dwayne Ledford says he and his players are excited about the opportunity to go up against “the very best.”

“It’s an exciting week,” U of L offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford said. “You want to go out and go against the best. If you are playing this game, you want to challenge yourself to go out and play against the best. To me, as a player you know what Clemson is coming in here to do.

”They are the national champs. They have great talent and have a great coaching staff. They are at the top of the game right now. Thee guys up front are excited about it because they are getting to play the best of the game. This is a great opportunity to see how good we are right now.”

Ledford said the U of L offensive staff “took a long look” at the Clemson game against North Carolina when the Tar Heels only lost 21-20 a few weeks ago.

”The kids are playing hard and they are excited,” Ledford said. “It’s a huge challenge but it’s going to be fun to go out there and play against the national champs. This is the type of stage that you like as a play, competing against the very best.”

—Clemson Maven takes a “behind enemy lines” look at Louisville.

—You aren’t the only one, Andy.

—The CJ lays out how Louisville football can spring the biggest upset in program history.

—Sports Illustrated’s ACC basketball preview is out. It features Jordan Nwora as the Player of the Year, Ryan McMahon as the Sixth Man of the Year, and Louisville picked to win the conference.

Predicted Order of Finish

1. Louisville

Even those with the loftiest aspirations for the Cardinals couldn’t have seen this coming. In just Chris Mack’s second season since taking over as head coach, he has reshaped Louisville and put the team in position to contend for the ACC’s top spot and possibly a national title. The Cardinals have the luxury of peaking at the right moment with many programs in the conference looking to retool, but Jordan Nwora has to elevate their play after being bounced from the NCAA tournament in the first round last season. Five of the Cards’ top six players returned to school, and bringing in the country’s No. 12 recruiting class (per 247Sports) provides even more reinforcements. This is the greatest opportunity that Louisville will get in an airtight ACC.

—After taking care of Northern Kentucky earlier this week, the Louisville men’s soccer team returns to ACC play tonight against Boston College. Here’s a preview.

—Friday Irrelevance:

—College football on TV tonight:

Marshall at Florida Atlantic (6:30 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

Pittsburgh at Syracuse (7 p.m./ESPN)

No. 4 Ohio State at Northwestern (8:30 p.m./BTN)

UNLV at Fresno State (10 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

—U.S. Women’s National Team star Rose Lavelle will be at Lynn Stadium tonight on what should be a big evening for Cardinal soccer.

Rose Lavelle, a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, will make an appearance at the 16^thranked University of Louisville women’s soccer match against No. 11 Duke at 5:00 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18. The match is part of a double-header with the UofL men’s team.

The 2019 World Cup Champion will participate in a fan Q&A at halftime. Fans are encouraged to submit their questions this week through the Louisville Women’s Soccer team’s Twitter and Facebook accounts @ULWomensSoccer. Lavelle will sign autographs between the women’s and men’s matches. Autographs will be limited to one item per person. Soccer balls, apparel, and photos will be permitted in the stadium to be signed. Additional items are at the discretion of stadium security.

Fans who arrive early will be entered into a drawing to win a US Women’s National Team jersey signed by Lavelle.

—Big Red Louie has three bold predictions for Louisville-Clemson.

—I think it’s very cool that Auburn did a hoops event at Toomer’s, but that “nobody is doing this” quote has, yet again, made Bruce Pearl a liar.

—A former Nebraska hoops commit is visiting U of L this weekend.

—David Hale and Andrea Adelson of ESPN like Scott Satterfield as their midseason ACC Coach of the Year. They also have Mekhi Becton and TuTut Atwell as midseason First Teamers.

—Scott Satterfield was on The Jim Rome Show Thursday. You can hear some of his comments here.

—And finally, beat Clemson.