Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 5.5.

—Jeff Walz wasn’t the only U of L coach to receive a contract extension on Friday. Field hockey coach Justine Sowry has signed on to stay at Louisville through 2028, and softball coach Holly Aprile has inked a deal that will keep her here through at least the 2026 season.

—The CJ’s Cam Teague writes that Malik Cunningham has been everything Louisville’s needed this season, and more.

—Niraj Patel over at BC Interruption likes the Eagles by a field goal tomorrow.

Prediction

Hammer the over, but a little less than I said in our weekly Q&A. Louisville has scored 30+ points in each game, but a porous defense tells me BC can keep up. Key to the game for BC will be taking care of the ball, and hopefully having things break for them this go around. BC 37 - UofL 34

The Narrative

Reports of BC’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Alright, maybe not all that exaggerated, but a win is a win. The speed of Louisville was an issue at times, but the Eagles nabbed some luck in the turnover department which swung the game. It was by no means perfect, but Hafley and his players responded to the criticism to get them back on their general trajectory.

—Bob Huggins said yesterday that he thinks power conferences should have their own NCAA tournaments. Mike DeCourcy eviscerates the idea here.

—Cardinal Authority previews Louisville-BC.

—First win of the season.

—The Louisville women’s soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision at No. 2 Virginia Thursday night.

—Louisville has offered JUCO safety Marquise Gilbert, who plays at the same junior college (Hutchinson) that produced current Cardinal LB Monty Montgomery.

—Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated dives into Wake Forest’s unusual RPO offense.

—The Cavalier Daily previews UVA’s Friday night volleyball match against No. 2 Louisville.

—Jerry!

—Rick Pitino is the guest on the latest episode of Eric Wood’s podcast.

—The No. 7/13 University of Louisville swimming and diving team fell to No. 17/7 Tennessee in a dual meet Thursday afternoon in Knoxville. The Louisville men fell 158-142 and the women fell 176-107.

—The latest From the Pink Seats podcast is here.

—Friday Irrelevance, double helping:

—The CJ outlines the keys to a Cardinal victory over Boston College.

—Louisville gets some love in ESPN’s weekly college football uniform report.

—The Cards are tied for ninth in Streaking the Lawn’s latest ACC football power rankings.

—Very cool.

—Louisville Report looks at the points of emphasis for the Boston College game.

—BC Heights previews Saturday’s contest.

—The Denver Broncos have now lost four straight after Thursday night’s defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. Teddy Bridgewater is still QB1 in the Mile High City though.

—And finally, beat Boston College.