Louisville vs Miami Preview and Prediction
Two ranked teams meet in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Saturday when the No. 16 ranked Louisville Cardinals take on the No. 25 ranked Miami Hurricanes.
The American Athletic Conference has four teams playing in bowl games this postseason and today is represented by Louisville in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
This game will feature two quarterbacks that could be playing in the NFL soon. Miami’s Stephen Morris is a senior and should be drafted in next May’s NFL Draft.
Teddy Bridgewater the starting quarterback for Louisville could declare a year early for the draft. If Bridgewater declares for the May NFL Draft, he could be one of the first players chosen overall.
The strength by far on these two teams is their passing offense. Louisville is 11-1 on the season, while Miami is 9-3.
Bridgewater has completed 70% of this passes this season for 3,523 yards, 28 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions.
Morris has a completion percentage of 59%, with 2,628 yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Bridgewater has a number of targets to throw to including his two favorite Damian Copeland and DeVante Parker. This season Parker has caught 46 passes and 11 touchdowns, while Copeland has 52 receptions and 5 touchdowns.
The Miami secondary is suspect and both of these Louisville receivers should have big games.
For Miami, Morris has two receivers who could also have big days against Louisville. Stacy Coley and Allen Hurns give the team explosiveness at wide receiver. Hurns is the team’s MVP with 60 receptions and 6 touchdowns.
Hurns may have been recently voted the team’s MVP, but Coley will be the X-factor for Miami against Louisville. Coley had 30 reception and 7 touchdowns but his versatility sets him apart. This season Coley scored a rushing touchdown, a kick return touchdown and a punt return touchdown to go with his 7 receiving touchdowns.
With both teams possessing very little defense against the pass, this matchup should feature lots of scoring and a very high point total.
Many people predicted Louisville as a dark horse to play in the BCS Championship game due to their very weak schedule and Bridgewater’s elite talent as their quarterback. However, the Cardinals were shocked midway through the season by Central Florida University and that dashed all hopes of a national title.
The biggest obstacle Charlie Strong the head coach of Louisville faces is getting his team ready to play in a bowl game they did not see themselves playing in when the season started.
That could hurt the Cardinals against a team like Miami, which has played inconsistently over the season, but very well at the end of the regular season.
Because of that, the game should be close and the last team with possession might end up the winners.
Even though the motivation factor should be in Miami’s favor, the talent of Bridgewater will carry the Cardinals to victory.
Pick: Take Louisville and the OVER in high scoring game.
