Monday evening Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check (Music City Bowl): Louisville by 3.5.

—After their loss to Ohio State last week, the U of L women’s basketball team is down five spots to No. 7 in this week’s AP poll.

—Jordan Nwora had one of the five best plays (video) of the week in the ACC.

—Jon Rothstein writes for The New York Times that Louisville and Ohio State appeared to have created some early separation between themselves and the rest of the country.

Louisville is playing elite defense. The Cardinals held Michigan and Pittsburgh to an average of 44.5 points in two wins last week. Louisville also held both teams to a shooting average of 31.5 percent and 19 percent from 3-point range. “We’re a lot more connected on that end of the floor than we were last year,” said Louisville Coach Chris Mack, who is in his second season with the Cardinals. “We have older guys who have gotten so much better defensively.” Louisville is the top team in the Associated Press Top 25.

Ohio State has been the most impressive team during the first month. The Buckeyes have beaten Villanova, Cincinnati and Penn State at home to go with a 25-point rout of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Those four victories have come by an average of 22.5 points. Ohio State will face Kentucky on Dec. 21 at the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas, and will take on West Virginia on Dec. 29 in Cleveland. The 2020 N.C.A.A. tournament is still months away, but Ohio State is putting itself in position for a top seed.

—Awful news out of Bowling Green, where Western Kentucky announced Monday afternoon that star center Charles Bassey will miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury during the team’s win over Arkansas on Saturday.

—The latest BucketHatism from LJ Nesbitt puts a bow on Louisville football’s 2019 regular season.

—Louisville is No. 1 in Andy Katz’s new Power 36 rankings.

—Louisville is playing in the Jimmy V. Classic on Tuesday, an event which has special meaning for Cardinal freshman Samuell Williamson.

—Boston College QB Anthony Brown has entered the transfer portal.

—Trinity took down nationally-ranked Male in 6A State Championship game on Sunday, a win which was particularly special for one Shamrock junior.

—You can vote for U of L commit D’Andre Davis as the Indiana High School basketball performer of the week here.

—JJ Traynor’s hops are different.

—U of L men’s soccer standout Cherif Dieye has been named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Second Team.

—ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has already submitted his picks for all 378 bowl games, and he likes Mississippi State to take care of Louisville.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Louisville

(4 p.m. on ESPN at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee)

Louisville’s future is bright with Scott Satterfield, who won ACC Coach of the Year honors in his first season. But the Cardinals’ defense still needs a lot of work, especially after surrendering 517 rushing yards and six touchdowns to Lynn Bowden and Kentucky in the regular-season finale. Mississippi State can run it with Kylin Hill (1,347 rush yards) and quarterback Garrett Shrader (587 rushing yards), and the Bulldogs control the ball and do enough to limit Louisville’s big-play offense.

Prediction: Mississippi State 34, Louisville 27

—Louisville tops TNIAAM’s ACC power rankings.

—Compared to the last five years, the 2019 CFP field is loaded.

—Nbd

—Louisville is at the top of the latest college hoops power rankings from NBC Sports.

—Does being No. 1 matter? As a fan of the team currently ranked No. 1, I’m going to have to say yes.

—The Jackson Clarion Ledger serves up three quick things that Mississippi State fans need to know about Louisville.

—This is what Mike the Tiger does.

—Saturday Down South has an early Music City Bowl scouting report.

—Busting Brackets looks at the biggest storylines for Tuesday night’s Louisville-Texas Tech game.

—You just can’t get this level of insight from the CJ anymore.

—Lane Kiffin is the new head coach at Ole Miss, a team Louisville will open its 2021 season against.

—Jamel Starks and Ja’Darien Boykin, two of the higher-profile members of Louisville’s 2019 football recruiting class who did not qualify, will both enroll at U of L next month. That is very good news.

—And finally, congrats to Deion Branch, who is set to receive his degree from U of L 18 years after leaving the school to begin his NFL career.