Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 4.

—Brett McMurphy’s latest bowl projections have Louisville facing Ohio State in the Orange Bowl.

—Both ESPN’s bowl projectors also have the Cards facing the Buckeyes in Miami.

—Arkansas showed its players (including El Ellis) clips of Louisville’s loss to Lenoir-Rhyne before it played its first exhibition game.

“Yeah I got off to a really good start,” Ellis said. “Really just trying to play the right way, trying to take the open shots and really just, not to try to take the open shots but really just get into the lane and look for my teammates. When you’re a giver, you always receive so I feel like I just got to be a giver first and I’ll always receive.”

It has been almost a full calendar year since Ellis’ Louisville squad lost by double-digits to Division 2 Lenoir-Rhyne in an exhibition, which essentially foreshadowed what became a 4-28 season for the Cardinals.

In the buildup to Friday’s matchup with UT Tyler, the Arkansas’ coaching staff used clips from that game as motivation and a reminder of what could happen if the Hogs did not come out ready to play.

Determined to avoid a similar fate, Ellis took the flashbacks in stride and delivered a stellar performance in a blowout win for the Razorbacks.

“Every time we have film, they just throw little Louisville clips and things up there all the time, so I’m used to it,” Ellis said. “They know I don’t mind it, I’m older. I know like at the end of the day I’m here. What happened at Louisville doesn’t matter anymore.

“It feels really good just to be able to have a performance like that with my teammates. I lost against a D2 last year in an exhibition game, so to be able to come out on the right foot and play hard with the guys and get a really good win, it felt really good.”

—The U of L women’s basketball team is getting ready for ACC media day on Tuesday.

—The 5th-ranked Louisville volleyball team secured to more conference victories over the weekend.

—Eric Mac Lain has Louisville at No. 2 in his weekly ACC power rankings.

—Andrea Adelson has the Cards at No. 4.

—The week ahead in Cardinal athletics:

Monday, October 23

Women’s Golf at The Ally

Tuesday, October 24

Women’s Golf at The Ally
Softball vs Southern Indiana - 5 p.m. ET (Ulmer Stadium)

Wednesday, October 25

Women’s Golf at The Ally

Thursday, October 26

Women’s Tennis at Mississippi State Invitational
Men’s Basketball Media Availability - 1:30 p.m. ET
Women’s Soccer vs Duke - 6 p.m. ET (Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium)

Friday, October 27

Women’s Tennis at Mississippi State Invitational
Cross Country at ACC Championships
Rowing at Head of the Black Warrior River
#8 Field Hockey at #12 Boston College - 2 p.m. ET
Men’s Soccer vs #3 Wake Forest - 7 p.m. ET (Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium)
#5 Volleyball vs Florida State - 7 p.m. ET (L&N Federal Credit Union Arena)

Saturday, October 28

Women’s Tennis at Mississippi State Invitational
Rowing at Head of the Black Warrior River
#18 Football vs #20 Duke - 3:30 p.m. ET (L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium)

Sunday, October 29

Women’s Tennis at Mississippi State Invitational
Women’s Soccer at ACC Tournament (TBD)
#5 Volleyball vs Miami - 1 p.m. ET (L&N Federal Credit Union Arena)
Softball vs Miami (OH) - 1 p.m. ET (DH) (Ulmer Stadium)

—The U of L men’s soccer team took a 2-0 loss at No. 11 North Carolina on Sunday. Louisville returns home to close out the regular season on Friday night against No. 3 Wake Forest. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

—The latest episode of the 3rd and Central podcast is here.

—John Calipari is calling shenanigans on the Zillow lister that said he let Cal borrow his weed eater and never got it back.

—It was another rough weekend for the No. 8 Louisville field hockey team, which lost to Syracuse on Friday and Appalachian State on Sunday. The Cardinals have suddenly lost four in a row.

—The Louisville women’s soccer team fell to 3-9-5 on the season with a 1-0 loss at Wake Forest.

—The Athletic has eight storylines to know as the college basketball season nears.

—Lamar Jackson looked sensational in a rout of my beloved Lions.

—Was solving this question the key to the next level for Lamar?

—Louisville has offered class of 2025 PG Macari Moore from Michigan. Moore is currently ranked as the No. 166 overall player in the class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.

—U of L football commit Cole McConathy is leading the state of Alabama in sacks.

—The Chicago Bulls waived Carlik Jones over the weekend. The former Cardinal was the MVP of the G-League in 2022-23.

—Former U of L hoops recruit Mackenzie Mgbako was arrested after an incident at a Taco Bell in Bloomington in the early hours of Sunday morning.

—The CW curse is real, folks.

—Kamari Lands reportedly scored a team-high 18 points for Arizona State in a scrimmage win over reigning national runner-up San Diego State over the weekend.

—Jawhar Jordan and Jarvis Brownlee are both questionable for Saturday’s game against Duke. The news on starting right guard Renato Brown is worse.

—The path to the ACC title game is pretty clear for Louisville: Win out and get one more loss from North Carolina. Tie with the Tar Heels and things get a bit more complicated.

—Cool graphic here.

—The Raleigh News Observer takes a first look at Louisville vs. Duke.

—It was a big weekend for former Cards in the NFL.

—Jamari Thrash believes the Duke defense might be the best the Cardinals will face this season.

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