Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 10.

—ESPN college hoops writer Jeff Borzello has Louisville at No. 5 in his updated early rankings for this season.

5. Louisville Cardinals

Previous: 5

Duke has the elite incoming recruiting class and North Carolina did an impressive job of rebuilding its roster in the spring, but Louisville quietly might have the best team in the ACC. The Cardinals did lose some depth when David Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in late July, but Chris Mack has the personnel to overcome his absence. Jordan Nwora should be a preseason All-American candidate, and Dwayne Sutton, Steven Enoch and Malik Williams all return after playing key roles up front. The perimeter will see some changes, most notably Saint Joseph’s graduate transfer Lamarr Kimble and five-star wing Samuell Williamson coming into the fold. Louisville struggled late in the season, but Kimble and Williamson add some scoring pop and Mack has consistently had strong defensive units.

—The undefeated U of L women’s soccer team takes on Dayton tonight at 7:30 inside the friendly confines of Lynn Stadium. Here’s a preview.

—Dorian Etheridge, C.J. Avery, Tyler Haycraft and Blanton Creque will be your captains for Saturday’s game against WKU.

—The full ACC men’s basketball schedule will be revealed tonight during a snazzy TV special on the ACC Network.

—The New York Jets have signed James Burgess to their practice squad.

—After a one week hiatus, the R&R High School Game of the Week is back.

—This story from ESPN’s David Hale on Arkansas State football coach Blake Anderson and his late wife Wendy will get the waterworks going.

—It appears as though Archie Miller’s squad is no longer an option for Caleb Love.

—Despite Donovan Mitchell’s best efforts, the USA Basketball team embarrassed itself at the World Cup. Tom Ziller breaks down how they can still win gold at the Olympics next year.

—Rick Bozich says there are $7 million reasons why Louisville should tune out the Bobby Petrino redemption tour.

When Tyra made the call less than two days after Louisville lost at Syracuse, 54-23, on Nov. 9, he said the entirety of Petrino’s $14 million or so buyout would be paid. And it will be.

According to U of L, this is how much Petrino has been paid as of Wednesday:

*A payment of $5,917,536.62 on Dec. 31, 2018.

*A payment of $566,801.94 on March 31, 2019.

*A payment of $566,801.94 on June 30, 2019.

A reasonable person would assume that another $566,801.94 will be prepared on Sept. 30.

Those are numbers I had to stir into the pot after Petrino apologized to Arkansas fans for the way things ended in Fayetteville but didn’t say a word about the mess he left in Louisville, other than to remind everybody that he coached Lamar Jackson here for several seasons.

—Louisville’s defense has been great through two weeks, but Bryan Brown wants the unit to start forcing more turnovers.

—Streaking the Lawn (UVA) has Louisville at No. 13 in its ACC football power rankings.

—Yesterday’s Justify news makes it official: Louisville football spared nobody associated with the team in 2018:

Papa John -- ✓

Bobby Petrino -- ✓

Bowl Streak -- ✓

Competent Football -- ✓

Justify -- ✓

Really makes you think.

—U of L QB commit Chubba Purdy is putting up some massive numbers in his final high school season, which has attracted some additional attention from some high-profile suitors. Even so, Purdy says Louisville “feels like home.”

After visiting a couple of schools, he ultimately decided on Louisville.

“They just really showed me the most love from the get-go. I just really created a great relationship with coach Ponce, the quarterback coach, and we kept in touch after he offered me. I talked to him every single day,” Purdy said. “I just had a great time with all the other players there and they really wanted me there, as well.”

Purdy said besides his relationship with the coaching staff, he was really fond of the city of Louisville and all it had to offer. When he took his official visit to the school, he felt it was the perfect fit.

“I love the city. We went around and ate, and I just really felt that I could see myself there,” Purdy said. “I just really felt the love and I felt at home when I was there.”

—Cornelius Sturghill met with the media after practice on Wednesday and talked about what the U of L defense expects to see from WKU on Saturday.

—The U of L men’s soccer team opens up ACC play tomorrow night on the road against Syracuse.

—Kentucky’s refusal to open its arms to the easiest win in the history of wins will be Indiana’s gain.

—Louisville basketball’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge game against Michigan on Tuesday, Dec. 3 will tip-off either at 7 on ESPN2 or at 7:30 on ESPN.

—Today is Give Good for Louisville Day. If you have the means to assists and choose to, you’re awesome.

—Bill Connelly’s S&P Projections give Louisville a 71 percent chance of beating Western Kentucky on Saturday.

—A crucial few recruiting weeks are on the horizon for Louisville basketball.

—The CJ lays out three ways the Cards can take down WKU and kick off a winning streak.

—Dwayne Ledford expects the Louisville offense to keep progressing.

—Had to wait until right after I have a child to do this. Sons of bitches have no shame.

—The Cardinal Connect thinks the Louisville-WKU spread is too low.

—The 22nd-ranked Louisville volleyball team is headed to Nashville for the Lipscomb Tournament.

—Updated ACC hoops odds from BetOnline:

—And finally, we’re back on the radio this afternoon from 3-6. Listen live here or catch the podcast anytime at 790krd.com.