Wake Forest vs. Louisville Preview

Game Date: September 28th

Opponent: Louisville

Conference: ACC

Head Coach: Scott Statterfield, 1st Season

2018-19 record: 2-10 (0-8)

Bowl Game: LOLNOPE

Wins: Indiana State, Western Kentucky

Losses: Everyone Else

Yards per Game: 352.6 (108th in NCAA)

Yards Allowed per Game: 483.5 (122nd in NCAA; five spots worse than Wake. That's bad, y'all.)

Points per Game: 19.75 (122nd in NCAA)

Points Allowed per Game: 44.08 (127th in NCAA)

S&P+ Rankings (2018-19 season):

• Overall: 98
• Offense: 102
• Defense: 99
• Special Teams: 70
• SOS: 16

Projected S&P+ Rankings (2019-2020 season):

• Overall: 87
• Offense: 86
• Defense: 78

Man, I didn't realize just how bad Louisville was last season. Holy moly. It's even more of an indictment when you consider they scored 35 points against us (but gave up 56, in one of the most cathartic things I've seen in a while) which bumps up their PPG average. That's a big yikes.

I honestly have no idea what to make of this matchup because s new coach can make a gigantic difference. On balance, though, I'd probably bet on Wake pretty comfortably as of this writing.

What do you guys think? Will Louisville have something of a resurgence this year and pose a challenge and/or get the duke? Or will there be more of a sustained rebuild for the Cards? Sound off in the comments, and as always, Go Deacs.

--SF