Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 6.

—Peter Caliguri over at BC Interruption is predicting a Boston College upset of Louisville on Saturday.

—Jeff Greer shares thoughts on Saturday’s Louisville hoops scrimmage in his latest newsletter.

Grading the forwards: A-

Cross and Withers stood out the most on Saturday. Williamson’s length is still there and effective on the glass. JJ Traynor still has hops. And Dre Davis has been underrated this entire offseason.

Start with Cross, who totaled 11 points and three rebounds. Not a great shooting day for the Miami transfer, who shot 40% last season but was 0 for 4 from long range on Saturday. He did, however, get into the mix inside, scoring in transition and showing his combination of athleticism and physicality with a few nice finishes at the rim.

Withers is going to be a matchup nightmare this season — and he is in line for an All-ACC-level campaign if he keeps a competitive edge and consistently plays hard. On Saturday, he made 12 points (4-8, 2-4 from 3), 13 rebounds, three steals and two assists look easy. He has a pull-up jumper in his bag, and he can create for others, too.

Williamson has an edge about him in practice, but that didn’t quite come through Saturday at the Yum Center. Still, to steal a soccer phrase, he grew into the game after starting slow. The good thing about the 6-7 wing is that he rebounds and impacts the game in other ways now if his shot isn’t falling, an improvement from when he was struggling offensively early last season.

Traynor was an efficient scorer, going 4 of 7 from the field, while grabbing five boards. He will have a role on this team. Same goes for Davis, who just does a little bit of everything and gives Louisville some real toughness. The Indianapolis native collected six points from only four shots, plus four rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.

—Cardinal Authority updates where Louisville football stands in the various statistical national rankings.

—Louisville is a 2-seed in ESPN’s preseason women’s bracketology.

—Boston College’s 247 Sports site gives an overview of Louisville.

—Just a tremendous run by Coach K.

—The American Athletic Conference is planning on adding six schools from Conference USA.

—Speaking of, I’ve got to find a way to get in on this conference realignment consultant money.

—BC Interruption previews the Louisville offense.

—With the bye week in its rearview mirror, Louisville is in desperate need of a bounce-back performance against Boston College.

—Ben Simmons is a cancer. Who could have seen this coming?

—Louisville has offered 4-star offensive tackle Miles McVay out of St. Louis.

—Bobby Petrino has released a statement on Louisville’s upcoming retirement of Lamar Jackson’s No. 8.

—The U of L men’s soccer team hosts Oakland Tuesday night. Here’s a preview.

—Louisville’s Aimee Plumb has been named ACC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week.

—The bye week gave Louisville an opportunity to get healthy and also watch Boston College-NC State.

Louisville’s bye week came at the perfect time.

The Cardinals, who were battling injuries for much of the first half of the season, were finally able to get some of their players some needed rest. Coming off the 34-33 loss to Virginia wasn’t ideal, but the Cardinals were still able to work the off week to their benefit.

Getting healthy was the primary concern. Scott Satterfield mentioned tight end Marshon Ford, who was banged up after the Virginia game, as somebody who needed the time off to recover.

But even players who weren’t injured got some needed rest. Players like linebacker C.J. Avery or safeties Qwynnterrio Cole and Kenderick Duncan Jr., all got some time off the field because they’ve played nearly every snap this season.

“They need it, their bodies need it,” Satterfield said. “Ashton (Gillotte) is another one that really didn’t get much work last week, we let him take the whole week off. He came back Sunday and worked some yesterday. Those safeties have basically gotten every rep these first six games, but hopefully they’re rejuvenated and ready to come back and have a great second half of the season.”

—The U of L men’s tennis team is collaborating with the Churchill Downs Racing Committee Backstretch Recreation program and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to provide the opportunity for equine workers at the racetrack to learn and play tennis.

—Malik Cunningham and QB coach Pete Thomas will talk to the media after practice around 6 p.m. this evening.

—Happy NBA opening night, and best of luck to these fellas in particular.

—Jack Harlow has announced five Louisville shows and five different locations.

—Boston College needs a win this weekend just as badly as Louisville does.

—And finally, the Mike Rutherford Show is back from 3-6 this afternoon on 1450 The Big X. You can stream the show here.