The Post Where I Predict the Future: 2023 Edition

It’s time, once again, to be outraged.

Before that happens, here’s the annual rundown of the history of this post:

2006: PREDICTED: 11-1; ACTUAL: 11-1

2007: PREDICTED: 11-1; ACTUAL: 6-6

2008: PREDICTED: 6-6; ACTUAL: 5-7

2009: PREDICTED: 4-8; ACTUAL: 4-8

2010: PREDICTED: 5-7; ACTUAL: 6-6

2011: PREDICTED: 6-6; ACTUAL: 7-5

2012: PREDICTED: 10-2; ACTUAL: 10-2

2013: PREDICTED: 11-1; ACTUAL: 11-1

2014: PREDICTED: 9-3; ACTUAL: 9-3

2015: PREDICTED: 9-3; ACTUAL: 7-5

2016: PREDICTED: 9-3; ACTUAL: 9-3

2017: PREDICTED: 9-3; ACTUAL: 8-4

2018: PREDICTED: 7-5; ACTUAL: 2-10

2019: PREDICTED: 3-9; ACTUAL: 7-5

2020: PREDICTED: 8-3; ACTUAL: 4-7

2021: PREDICTED: 7-5; ACTUAL: 6-6

2022: PREDICTED: 7-5; ACTUAL 7-5

TOTALS:

Perfectly Correct Years: 7

Off By 1 Game Years: 5

Off By 2 Games Years: 1

Off By 4 Games Years: 2

Off By 5 Games Years: 2

Let’s get into it ...

GAME ONE: At Georgia Tech

Louisville hasn’t defeated a power conference opponent since back in 2017, when it limped to an unimpressive victory in a pseudo-road game at an NFL stadium against ... Jeff Brohm and Purdue.

The first game of the Brohm era at U of L is a similar setup: A lightly-regarded power conference opponent, an NFL stadium, a nice national spotlight on opening weekend, and a game that almost all Louisville fans are expecting to win. It also, unfortunately, is a little reminiscent of the setup of last season’s season-opener at Syracuse.

The good news here is Brohm has been pretty stellar in season-openers throughout his coaching career. There won’t be any “we just weren’t ready to play” or “they simply wanted it more than we did” talk after week one this year.

It’s tight for most of the first half, before Louisville seizes control in the second.

CC Prediction: Louisville 31, Georgia Tech 21

GAME TWO: vs. Murray State

Short week. Black out. Brohm’s first home game.

Let’s take care of business and come out of this one healthy and with some added confidence.

CC Prediction: Louisville 49, Murray State 6

GAME THREE: at Indiana

A few years ago, Tom Allen was the toast of Bloomington and had his Hoosiers receiving preseason top 25 love and Big Ten spoiler talk from every pundit in the country. Now, after winning six games in the last two seasons and entering 2023 widely projected to be one of the worst Power Five conference teams in the country, Allen finds himself firmly on the hot seat.

Beating Jeff Brohm, something Allen struggled mightily to do while Brohm was at Purdue, would go a long way towards winning back his fan base’s goodwill. Especially since Indiana has been engaged in the decently embarrassing endeavor of buying its way out of its 2025 home game against Louisville.

The Hoosiers will fight, and there will be some tense moments, but Louisville will find a way to avoid the September upset.

CC Prediction: Louisville 23, Indiana 17

GAME FOUR: vs. Boston College

Like Allen, Jeff Hafley has gone from one of the hottest names in college football coaching to a guy fighting for his future. BC went just 3-9 last season and then lost star quarterback Phil Jurkovec to a Pittsburgh transfer.

The Eagles can’t be worse against the run than they were a year ago, but they won’t be improved enough to keep Jawhar Jordan and Maruice Turner from going nuts. The Cards are 4-0 and the fan base is dreaming crazy thoughts a third of the way through the season.

CC Prediction: Louisville 34, Boston College 16

GAME FIVE: at NC State

The toughest stretch of Louisville’s 2023 season starts with a short week of rest and a Friday night tilt in Raleigh. The Cards are 4-2 all-time against NC State on the road, but have lost two of the last three, including a humbling 28-13 defeat in their most recent visit back in 2021.

NC State lost QB Devin Leary to Kentucky, but brings in Brennan Armstrong, who destroyed Louisville’s heart with his fourth quarter heroics for Virginia a couple of year ago.

The Wolfpack are lacking the specialty position weapons to have a truly dynamic offense, but their defense will be as stellar as always, and will almost certainly provide the stiffest test yet for Jack Plummer and company.

Weeknight games in Raleigh get wild. Ask Lamar Jackson and the 2017 Cardinals.

Louisville fights, but ultimately falls short.

CC Prediction: NC State 29, Louisville 23

GAME SIX: vs. Notre Dame

This is the one I’ve been going back and forth on all summer.

There’s a reason why college football fans both local and national have been circling this one as an upset since the moment the schedules came out.

For Notre Dame, this game is sandwiched in between games against Ohio State and Duke, and a home game against arch-rival USC. Toss in the fact that Jeff Brohm has made a habit of winning the biggest game on his team’s schedule, and that Louisville fans will likely turn this game into “one of those” events, and the prediction makes sense.

But is it too obvious?

The Irish looked awfully impressive in their season-opening win over Navy, and it’s unlikely that quarterback Sam Hartman throws 17 interceptions inside Cardinal Stadium for a second straight year.

My gut recently has been leaning towards the thought that this is too good to be true, and that the Irish will take care of business. But thanks to long Covid, my gut has also been letting me down a ton over the last year and-a-half. So f—k my gut.

CC Prediction: Louisville 34, Notre Dame 33

GAME SEVEN: At Pittsburgh

Pitt lost a ton from last season, but at this point you have to trust Pat Narduzzi’s ability to reload and field a team that will be stout on defense and ultimately finish with 7-9 wins.

The Panthers have been a thorn in Louisville’s side since the Steve Kragthorpe era and had won six of their last seven games against the Cards before last season’s two touchdown U of L victory. Still, Louisville has lost two straight and four of its last five on the road against Pitt.

This feels like a classic “I can’t think about anything else for the rest of the weekend” frustration loss after the high of the Notre Dame win.

CC Prediction: Pittsburgh 27, Louisville 20

GAME EIGHT: vs. Duke

The Cards finally get an off week to lick their wounds before hosting a Duke team that enters year two of the Mike Elko era with some hype.

The Blue Devils start the game hot and take a sizable first half lead, kicking off the first round of “I KNEW Brohm wasn’t the guy” talk on social media. A furious second half rally saves the day and sends a chunk of Card Nation into a furious tweet deleting spree.

CC Prediction: Louisville 42, Duke 38

GAME NINE: vs. Virginia Tech

I don’t think this is going to be a great Virginia Tech team, and I don’t think this should be an especially tough spot for Louisville.

BUT, it doesn’t feel like this is going to be a Cardinal football season where we go the whole way without a true upset loss. I’m throwing a dart and circling this one as my pick.

CC Prediction: Virginia Tech 27, Louisville 16

GAME TEN: vs. Virginia

It’s the much-discussed “Glow Game,” and we do not, I repeat DO NOT lose “Glow Games.”

Cards roll.

CC Prediction: Louisville 45, Virginia 24

GAME ELEVEN: at Miami

For whatever reason, this is the game on the schedule that I have the absolute least amount of confidence in.

Miami has smacked us around pretty well the last two times we’ve met. Plus, it always seems like the Hurricanes pick a couple of games each year where they decide to really try and the absurd amount of talent they have on their roster is fully apparent.

This feels like one of those games, and it gets ugly for the visitors.

CC Prediction: Miami 45, Louisville 23

GAME TWELVE: vs. Kentucky

As was the case multiple times in the Scott Satterfield era, it feels like the prevalent emotion when it comes to how we view the entire football season will come down to the Battle for the Governor’s Cup.

Lose it, and it’s season that had some nice moments but wound up being “just ok” in relation to preseason expectations and the fans’ level of excitement. Win it, and it’s a changing of the guard moment and a sign that the Jeff Brohm era at Louisville will ultimately become what we all hope it will.

The latter happens, and Cardinal fans are sky-high heading into the holidays.

I know I said I wouldn’t pick Louisville to win this game until the Cards got back to at least being competitive against the Cats, but when I said that I had no idea that Scott Satterfield bolting for Cincinnati out of nowhere was an option that was on the table.

As it tends to do every four or five years, the rivalry flips.

CC Prediction: Louisville 34, Kentucky 31

FINAL RECORD: 8-4 (4-4)

Prove me wrong in the right ways this year, boys.