Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Virginia Tech by 3.5.

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—Just like with football, there will be no Louisville vs. Kentucky meeting in women’s basketball this season.

—Scott Satterfield talked with Packer and Durham Thursday morning about Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech.

—Tech Sideline previews Louisville vs. Virginia Tech.

—TSL also previews the game in podcast form.

—The Cards check in at No. 11 in the latest ACC power rankings from Streaking the Lawn.

—Athlon is going with Louisville to spring the mild upset on Saturday.

Final Analysis

Virginia Tech is the favorite in this game, but this is certainly a game Louisville should feel good about. The Cardinals have a high-powered offense with Cunningham, Hawkins, and Atwell.

Louisville has faced tougher competition than Virginia as three of their four losses were to ranked times at the time, and two of those losses were a combined eight points. Although neither one of these defenses is great, the Cardinals’ offense will be the difference in a game that could light up the scoreboard.

Prediction: Louisville 37, Virginia Tech 31

—After solid performances in consecutive weeks, Louisville players and coaches say they can all feel the team’s confidence growing.

—U of L women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz spoke with the media on Thursday. GoCards.com has a summary.

—I don’t know, I think there’s still a debate to be had over who the greatest KCD baseball player of all-time is.

—Louisville City FC legend Luke Spencer is hanging up the boots.

—There’s an arrest warrant out for Walter McCarty after a failure to appear in court.

—The Louisville men’s soccer season is off to a “bumpy” start. The Cards will face Virginia Tech in their fall finale.

—Good quarterbacks win. Great quarterbacks cover.

—The KFC Yum Center will now be going with Pepsi products instead of Coca-Cola.

—Here’s the official release from U of L on Saturday’s game being a “Blackout.”

The University of Louisville football team will hold a “Halloween Blackout” game on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET when it welcomes ACC foe Virginia Tech to Cardinal Stadium.

Fans in attendance at Cardinal Stadium Saturday are encouraged to wear black to support the team. Louisville will wear special themed black uniforms in honor of Halloween. The history of the Louisville Blackout stretches back to the 2006, when the fifth-ranked Cardinals wore all black uniforms for the first time in a top-5 contest with third-ranked West Virginia on Nov. 2. The Cardinals picked up one of the biggest wins in school history, besting the Mountaineers 44-34 in front of a nationally televised Thursday night audience on ESPN.

The Cardinals also held a Blackout for last season’s opener against Notre Dame.

In advance of the event, Cardinal Fans are encouraged to support local retailers or shop online at https://shop.gocards.com/.

—The undefeated Louisville field hockey team will wrap up its regular season on Friday at Syracuse.

—Do any ghosts call the University of Louisville home? Maybe.

—Malik Williams should be one of the best defensive big men in all of college basketball this season.

—Bryan Brown and Nick Okeke talked with the media after practice on Wednesday evening.

—Kentucky Derby 147 is expected to go back to the first Saturday in May, but limited fan capacity might still be a thing at Churchill Downs.

—Louisville has offered four-star class of 2022 WR Sam M’Bake from Georgia.

—I had totally forgotten that Louisville played Texas twice in 1996-97.

Not sure Eric Johnson got that three off in time, but it’s too late to go back now.

—A look at Louisville vs. Virginia Tech by the numbers.

—And finally, Malik Cunningham has stepped up as a leader for Louisville in the middle of the 2020 season, both on and off the field.