Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Notre Dame by 20.5.

—Our guy Cardinal Strong answered some questions for the Notre Dame folks over at One Foot Down.

—Louisville starts the season as the first member of the “waiting list” on ESPN’s Bottom 10 rankings.

—The NCAA is gross, exhibit one billion.

—The U of L field hockey team checks in at No. 12 in the preseason coaches poll. This marks the 65th consecutive week that the Cardinals have been ranked inside the nation’s top 20.

—September is a massive month for Louisville basketball recruiting. Jeff Greer breaks down (Athletic link) the stakes.

—There’s a new true crime podcast being released this week which will center around the mysterious murders in Bardstown.

—Star Alabama LB Dylan Moses will miss the entire 2019 season after tearing his ACL.

—Nice.

—Cardinal Sports Zone gives an overview of Louisville-Notre Dame.

—Bill Connelly’s S&P projections have Louisville ranked No. 82 in the FBS.

—It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since we lost John Asher.

—U of L volleyball will he having a “Red Out” when it hosts Florida in a nationally-ranked battle this Friday night at 7 inside Cardinal Arena.

—Last season in college basketball saw a record 26 comebacks of 20 points or more. You know one of them, but thankfully that one wasn’t the worst of the lot.

—Will Smith is now being talked about as “the next Buster Posey” (ESPN insider), which is pretty damn wild.

—Gettin’ closer.

—Slap the Sign lists five Louisville players who could give Notre Dame trouble on Monday night.

—The USL has signed a new deal with ESPN, but Louisville City FC games will still be seen locally on WDRB and WBKI.

—The KFC Yum Center is looking to hire 150 new employees.

—Biking across the Broadway Bridge with Bill Walton sounds awesome.

—Notable Donovan Mitchell fanboy Todd Gurley:

—Sheldon Rankins has returned to practice with the New Orleans Saints. The team is hopeful that he’ll be able to play as early as week four.

—Rick Bozich asks the million dollar question: How much better can Jawon Pass be this season?

—Thirty-nine percent of college basketball coaches believe the ACC has the best stable of coaches in the sport.

—Louisville has named its four captains for week one.

—Notre Dame WR Kevin Austin is expected to miss the entire 2019 season.

—A developer is planning to create an eight-story apartment complex with 11,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space on a parking lot across from Louisville Slugger Field.

—Speaking of Slugger Field, Aristides Aquino — when spent most of this year with the Louisville Bats before making history with the Cincinnati Reds — has been named the International League Rookie of the Year.

—Some impressive stuff here from a pair of future Cardinal defenders.

—Sports Media Pass lists Notre Dame’s keys to a victory over Louisville.

—Big Red Louie takes on the same task for the Cards.

—UHND.com looks at the key matchups in Louisville vs. Notre Dame.

Jafar Armstrong vs. ILB C.J. Avery

RB Jafar Armstrong was pressed into service at the start of last season following the four-game suspension of Dexter Williams and was an effective option during that stretch. He compiled 245 of his 383 yards during those games and also scored five touchdowns. Now, he’s taking over full-time for Williams, along with Tony Jones Jr., and looks to follow in his footsteps after picking up 5.3 yards per carry and also snagging 14 passes.

Avery doesn’t have a lot of size at 5-foot-11, yet he seems to find a way to bring down ballcarriers. He made 56 stops last year, including 2.5 behind the line and also managed to recover a fumble that he forced. If that wasn’t enough, he also managed to pick off a pair of passes and knock away two more.

Notre Dame Secondary vs, QB Jawon Pass

Satterfield is more of a run-oriented coach, but the Cardinals will most likely be playing catch-up in this game, which will mean going to the air. The Irish have a senior-laden group of defensive backs to defend against the Cardinal running game, with Troy Pride Jr. and Donte Vaughn the first line of defense in this area. Vaughn has a resurgence in fall camp after a few injury-plagued years. That experience gives them a decided advantage in this matchup.

—A reminder that the “All Access: Louisville Football” special will be airing at 9 p.m. on Sunday night.

—Four freshmen are set to play major roles for Notre Dame in the Irish’s season-opener.

—Class of 2022 guard Ty Rodgers will be taking an unofficial visit to U of L on Wednesday.

—Jerry Palm of CBS likes Notre Dame to cover the spread.

Week 1 Picks

No. 9 Notre Dame at Louisville (+20): Welcome to big time college football, Scott Satterfield. His debut as Louisville’s coach comes against the No. 9 Fighting Irish. Louisville’s offensive line and defense in general was a hot mess last season. Ian Book returns to lead the Notre Dame offense behind most of last year’s offensive line and as good as that unit is expected to be, the Irish defense will likely be better. Even if the Cardinals are improved, it may not show up against the Irish. Pick: Notre Dame (-20)

—The staff over at Cardinalsports.com make their game-by-game predictions for Louisville football, and all see the Cards winning at least five games this season.

—Scott Satterfield said on Monday that he’s still seeking consistent effort from his team. Eric Crawford dives into how much that statement means with the 2019 season rapidly approaching.

—And finally, U of L lays out some notable items in preparation for Monday’s game against Notre Dame.