—Spread check: Louisville by 2.5.
—Louisville received a single vote in this week’s AP top 25 poll. The Cards are back.
—Florida State has released its depth charts for Saturday’s game. Despite a woeful last couple of weeks, McKenzie Milton is still listed as FSU’s starting QB.
—Had a similar thought right when I saw Harbaugh trying to get Lamar’s attention.
you gotta admit it would've been pretty funny if Lamar Jackson was like "PUNT IT COACH, WE GOT A PRO BOWLER BOOTING BOMBS BACK THERE, IT'S COFFIN CORNER TIME BABY LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO"
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 20, 2021
Saying “no” was never going to happen, but it would have been pretty hilarious.
—Brett McMurphy’s updated bowl projections have Louisville facing West Virginia in the Armed Forces Bowl. McMurphy did not have the Cards making a bowl game last week.
—On Saturday, the U of L volleyball team did what not a whole lot of teams have been able to do over the years: They came to Lincoln and swept the 6th-ranked Cornhuskers on their home floor.
Louisville went a perfect 10-0 against its non-conference schedule and now turns its attention to ACC play, which begins Friday night at home against Miami.
—Jaylin Alderman’s pick six was the only play he was on the field Friday night.
When Louisville football linebacker Jaylin Alderman streaked down the sideline en route to a game-winning touchdown on Friday night, if you didn’t know any better you would have thought him to be a savvy veteran. A pass behind a UCF receiver was deflected in the air and Alderman calmly caught the ball in stride and turned on the jets.
What most didn’t realize amid the pandemonium in Cardinal Stadium was that it was Alderman’s first snap of the game.
After star linebacker Monty Montgomery was forced to the sideline with an injury, the 18-year-old true freshman subbed in for his first snap of the game and one of the first of his career.
“That was (Jaylin) Alderman’s only play and he gets in the game and he gets a touchdown,” head coach Scott Satterfield said postgame. “I said that was divine intervention. He’s in the game right there at the very end with 18 seconds to go into the game. He sits out there in the flat, the ball gets tipped right to him, he’s not even supposed to be there, he catches it and goes and scores a touchdown. You can’t write a script any better than that. He’s a great kid, too. He’s going to be a really good player for us. I said that the coaches were screwing up because we’re not playing him more. He played one snap and got a touchdown so he’s got to play a lot more, right?”
Be it due to the Holy Spirit, the Dalai Lama, or the ghost of Johnny Unitas, the stars certainly aligned for one magical, season-altering play.
—It’s safe to say that the NFL has not, in fact, “figured out Lamar Jackson.”
—The fifth-ranked U of L field hockey team fell to No. 2 Iowa by a final of 2-0 on Sunday. It was the first loss in a game for any Cardinal team in 10 days.
The magic of the Olivia Munn tweet could only do so much.
—The Cardinal secondary deserves a ton of praise for the way it played Friday night.
Listening to @UCF_Banneret postgame pod and they pointed out this was Dillon Gabriel’s first ever game where he threw for less than 200 yards. Unreal performance from the secondary last night.
— Conor Shea (@CurlyShea) September 19, 2021
—The Louisville men’s and women’s soccer teams both notched ACC wins in overtime on Friday night. The men took down Syracuse (5-4), while the women downed Miami (3-2).
—Andy Katz does not have Louisville making the NCAA tournament in his preseason mock bracket.
—As always, this Louisville basketball video is really well done and has me beyond pumped for 50 days from now.
5️⃣0️⃣ days… #GoCards pic.twitter.com/kxJ8h6BiyH
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) September 20, 2021
—David Levitch talked with the crew over at TwinSpires about his life after graduation and foray into the world of horse racing.
—The Louisville baseball team picked up a fall victory over Xavier on Saturday.
—The Ringer says Lamar Jackson was among the biggest winners of the weekend in the NFL.
Winner: Lamar Jackson
It’s always been about what Lamar Jackson can’t do, until he comes out and does it. They said he couldn’t be an effective QB in the NFL—until he made the league, and won MVP. They said he couldn’t win a playoff game after crashing out of the 2019 playoffs—then he beat the Titans last year. They said he couldn’t lead his team to a comeback victory because his game was so dependent on running—he actually did that in the same playoff game against the Titans, when Baltimore trailed by 10 early.
The latest thing Lamar Jackson couldn’t do until he did it: beating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who were 3-0 against Jackson. When Jackson took over as the Ravens’ starter in 2018, he led them on a blistering 6-1 tear to make the playoffs—with just one loss, an overtime defeat to Kansas City. When Jackson went 14-2 en route to an MVP in 2019, the Chiefs were one of the two teams to beat him. When Jackson lost to the reigning Super Bowl champs last year, it felt like a firm statement of the power structure in the AFC: The Chiefs were the best team in the conference, and the only team that seemed to pose any threat was actually a distant second.
...
In one night, Jackson did a pair of things he wasn’t supposed to be able to do—a big comeback win against the team he couldn’t beat. There are still, of course, other things he hasn’t done yet: He hasn’t led the league in most major passing categories, he hasn’t won a Super Bowl, he hasn’t shut everybody up about him yet. But the list is getting a lot shorter.
—The “all right, let’s go” moment between Lamar Jackson and John Harbaugh may have been the signature moment (Athletic link) of this iteration of the Ravens thus far.
—Honestly, there was no way they were losing to anyone after this:
Ravens play Omar whistling in fan suggested-tribute to Michael K. Williams tribute @emilyopilo pic.twitter.com/a7hXDRqm95
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) September 20, 2021
—It wasn’t all about Lamar on Sunday. Teddy Bridgewater was stellar once again in leading the Broncos to a 2-0 start,
—The Cardinal Sports Zone crew celebrates the win over UCF on their latest podcast.
—The U of L men’s tennis team rolled over Lipscomb on Sunday.
—This is Virginia a year from now.
Evas motivational message to Teddy Bridgewater .. (Y’all ) .. TEDDY! pic.twitter.com/BMWc7WSV7E
— Elle Duncan (@elleduncanESPN) September 19, 2021
—If you missed it over the weekend, the Card Chronicle emergency podcast after the UCF win was loaded with celebratory F bombs.
—George Washington III thoroughly enjoyed his visit to U of L over the weekend.
—Ole Miss QB Matt Corral (remember that guy?) is now the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
—Speaking of ...
Top 5 most wagered-on games of the 2021 CFB season thus far, by total (via @BetRivers)
— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) September 20, 2021
1. ND-FSU, Wk1
2. Ole Miss-Louisville, Wk1
3. UGA-Clemson, Wk1
4. PSU-Auburn, Wk3
5. Oregon-OSU, Wk2
Interesting.
—Great story from the CJ here on Bellarmine runner Michael Brizendine, who lost virtually everyone in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. A chance meeting with a Louisville couple changed his life and led him to the Derby City.
—Black and Gold Banneret reacted to UCF’s heartbreaking loss.
—We thought things were bad here before last Friday.
Fascinating times in Tallahassee pic.twitter.com/5v2uggEeBw
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 20, 2021
—Eric Crawford recaps the best and the worst from the weekend that was in college football.
—Despite likely having the most impressive win of any team in the ACC, Louisville players were shut out of the league’s individual weekly awards.
—Male hoops star Kaleb Glenn “loved” Louisville Live.
—The Daily Nebraskan recaps U of L volleyball’s sweep of the Cornhuskers.
—He still sounds exactly the same.
To get you in the mood to #BeatMarshall, here's a clip from the 10-3 App State victory in 1995.
— App State Nation (@AppStateNation) September 20, 2021
Scott Satterfield scored the only TD of the game late in the 4th give App the win.
This clip features commentary from 2 App State head coaches, with a cameo (0:28) from a third... pic.twitter.com/0ct1r3reXp
—Louisville-Wake Forest in two Saturdays will be a 12:30 p.m. kick on regional sports networks.
That’s right, while the Cards vs. 0-3 Florida State is a 3:30 kick on ESPN2, the game against the 3-0 team that just beat the Seminoles by three touchdowns gets the 12:30 RSN treatment.
—For Montrezl Harrell, it was just good to be back home this weekend.
—Streaking the Lawn (Virginia) wraps up week three in the ACC.
—I need one of these Metro Conference champions t-shirts like I need air.
Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum and the 1986 National Champion Louisville basketball team. pic.twitter.com/j8QJRG8Qry
— Dominique Yates (@RealDYates) September 18, 2021
—Louisville Report’s Matt McGavic serves up some final thoughts on the UCF win.
—Malik Williams says he back to 100 percent, but Chris Mack still plans to be cautious with his oft-injured senior center.
—And finally, the very first over-the-top giddy episode of The Mike Rutherford Show is coming your way from 3-6 this afternoon on 1450 The Big X. You can stream the show here.