—Spread check: Wake Forest by 6.5.
—The U of L football team received three votes in the latest AP top 25 poll and two in the coaches poll. Wake Forest checks in at No. 24 in the AP poll, making Saturday an opportunity for Louisville to score its first win over a ranked opponent since upsetting the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem back in 2019.
—The Tomahawk Nation crew dives into the film from FSU’s loss to Louisville.
—Jeff Greer’s latest U of L hoops newsletter dives into the question of what role Mason Faulkner plays for the 2021-22 Cards.
One Medium Thought: Reading between the lines on Mason Faulkner
Mason Faulkner met with media on Wednesday, his first such appearance since signing with Louisville late this summer. Faulkner, a graduate transfer guard, said he returned to workouts after a few months spent recovering from an ankle procedure, adding that his ankle “is doing really well” and that he is “ahead of schedule.”
This was the originally projected timeline for Faulkner, and his return to activity is good news for the Cardinals.
Now the question is where he fits in Louisville’s backcourt. To answer that, I asked Faulkner two questions in one: What role did the staff discuss with him during the recruiting process? Which position is he learning?
“The role is play my game,” Faulkner said. “Learn the system and how to play with these guys here. … We have a lot of competition for spots. That’s all I asked for. That’s all going to work itself out.”
My initial response to this comment was the equivalent of the emoji of the face with the monocle mysteriously peering off into the distance. A solid, “Huh.”
—The CBS college basketball crew’s “candid coaches” series is back, and it reveals that 45 percent of coaches in the sport believe Gonzaga’s Drew Timme is the best player in America.
—UniSwag had Louisville’s all-white look as the 9th-best in college football for this past weekend.
—Hollywood Brown should be doing Lamar’s (and Justin Tucker’s) laundry for the rest of the week.
The drops by #Ravens Hollywood Brown today..pic.twitter.com/32PC7D3I8H
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 26, 2021
—Speaking of ...
These are the two types of Lions fan. I chose to be the laughing one a long time ago for the sake of my own sanity. I don’t know how fans like the other guy can do this year after year.
What losing on a 66 yard field goal looks like. #OnePride #Lions #DetVsBal pic.twitter.com/OkJqx8yi3s
— Stick from Woodward Sports (@StickRadio) September 26, 2021
—The Three-Man-Weave crew previews the 2021-22 ACC men’s basketball season and projects Louisville to finish fourth. The guys also tab Chris Mack as the league’s Coach of the Year.
—Broncos LT Garrett Bolles says it’s time to stop doubting Teddy Bridgewater.
—Garrett Bolles is correct.
Teddy Bridgewater has thrown 18.6 percent of his passes 20-plus yards down the field (trailing only Russell Wilson among starters) and ranks second in completion percentage above expectation.
We thought that Drew Lock’s deep-ball rate was a function of his own reckless abandon. Considering the typically conservative Bridgewater is now close to topping the charts in 2021, perhaps this is just the aggressive style of football offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is demanding from his quarterbacks?
Either way, Bridgewater playing a non-gun-shy style is good for the long-term sustainability of this offense’s outlook.
—The 5th-ranked Louisville volleyball team swept Florida State on Saturday afternoon to move to 12-0 on the season and 2-0 in ACC play.
—Louisville-FSU highlights are here.
—A+ program culture.
Working for @UKequipment looks like a lot of fun... pic.twitter.com/vURmgd22rD
— l ECT l (@EthanTorstrick) September 26, 2021
—The U of L women’s soccer team suffered its first conference setback on Sunday, falling 3-0 to unbeaten and top-ranked Florida State. The Cards (6-2-1, 2-1-0) are back in action on Saturday when they host Wake Forest.
—The men’s soccer team topped Boston College, 2-0, to claim its fourth consecutive victory. They’ll wrap up their three-match homestand on Tuesday when Western Illinois comes to Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
—Saturday is now a fight to take down the ACC’s new top dog.
AA's ACC power rankings, Week 4
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) September 27, 2021
1. Wake Forest
2. Boston College
3. NC State
4. Clemson
5. Pitt
6. Louisville
7. Georgia Tech
8. Virginia Tech
9. Syracuse
10. Duke
11. Miami
12. North Carolina
13. Virginia
14. Florida State
—Of course conference commissioners are now getting in the way of the expanded College Football Playoff plan that pretty much everyone was in favor of.
—Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel give their overreactions (video) to college football’s fourth week.
—Tre Clark continues to come up clutch for the Cardinal defense.
—I can’t think of a television innovation that has more greatly improved the sports viewing experience than this one.
23 years ago today, @espn debuted the 1st & 10 line on tv. pic.twitter.com/I8vhtWlS4u
— TodayInSports (@TodayInSports3) September 27, 2021
—MaxPreps names DeVante Parker as the greatest high school football wide receiver to come out of the state of Kentucky.
—Is the ACC already eliminated from the College Football Playoff? No.
Hear me out: Ole Miss wins out, Cards win out, rematch at Lucas Oil on Jan. 10.
—Chop Chat has three primary takeaways from Florida State’s loss to Louisville.
—Imagine sitting down in your usual seats to watch your favorite team play football and then noticing that Outkast is sitting behind you.
Coolest Duck game ever. pic.twitter.com/Ed91gKat17
— Sam (@samuel101ts) September 26, 2021
—Jon Rothstein thinks Josh Nickelberry could be an All-Atlantic 10 performer at La Salle.
—Louisville-UCF was the 8th-most watched game of college football’s third week.
—Congrats to Dana Evans on being named to the WNBA’s All-Rookie team.
—Seeing this did something to me.
The bounce back! Even though we’re on opposite sides of the field now, it’s always good to see Teddy. I’m so proud of you. You’ve always been a true leader and a fierce competitor. pic.twitter.com/eKQRFMRzvr
— Charlie Strong (@CoachStrong_) September 23, 2021
The greenest pasture was here all along, my man.
—Louisville players were once again shut out of the ACC’s individual weekly awards.
—Today is the 20th anniversary of the first episode of PTI.
—The Sherman Minton Renewal project will result in westbound lanes on the bridge being closed for nine days starting in late October.
—Is this good? It seems good.
Most wins through 40 career starts
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) September 26, 2021
:
Patrick Mahomes: 32
Kurt Warner: 32
Dan Marino: 32 pic.twitter.com/ZGwC2JjZzh
—There are no shortage of storylines surrounding Florida State’s 0-4 start.
—The Tallahassee Democrat recaps Louisville’s win at Doak Walker.
—The fourth-ranked Louisville field hockey team is in action at Ohio State today.
—Feels like four or five lifetimes ago.
Four years ago today Tom Jurich and Rick Pitino were "effectively fired."
— Nick Coffey (@TheCardConnect) September 27, 2021
Does it seem longer than four years? pic.twitter.com/B0lv2MEfrG
—It was all love between Sheldon Rankins and Teddy Bridgewater after the Broncos win over the Jets on Sunday.
—Ross McMains is the guest on the latest episode of the Cardinal Sports Zone podcast.
—Three factors kept Florida State from pulling off a come-from-behind win over the Cards.
—Jaire Alexander starred for the Packers on Sunday Night Football.
—Our state.
Louisville is the only school with wins vs. all seven FBS teams from Florida while those teams were playing at the FBS level.
— Kelly Dickey (@RealCardGame) September 26, 2021
—Eric MacLain says on his podcast that Kei’Trel Clark is looking like a first round NFL draft pick right now.
—And finally, I’m back on The Mike Rutherford Show on The Big X — 1450/96.1 — this afternoon from 3-6. We’ll be talking at length about the win over Florida State as well as everything else that went down over the weekend.
You can stream the show here.