Louisville Cardinals Face First Test in AAC
Gary Nova
The Louisville Cardinals should have a cake walk to the American Athletic Conference championship and a BCS bowl berth. They are clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in this league. They face their two toughest opponents in the next two games in the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the UCF Knights, so if they are going to fall, it will have to be soon.
The Scarlet Knights come into the game at 4-1 and on a four game win streak which includes a win over the SEC’s Arkansas Razorbacks. They’re only loss was on opening weekend to Fresno State by one point in a 52-51 shootout. They Scarlet Knights won a similar game this past week 55-52 over the SMU Mustangs. So they are capable of matching Teddy Bridgewater and the Cards high powered offense.
Louisville is not only talented, but the schedule makers liked then too. The top three teams in the conference other than the Cards, Rutgers, UCF and the Houston Cougars, all have to travel to Papa Jon’s Stadium to face them. How convenient is that? Louisville’s toughest road games are at the UConn Huskies and Cincinnati Bearcats, neither of which should give them many problems.
Betonline has the odds on this and other AAC games:
Rutgers at Louisville– Rutgers is +19 -110 and Louisville is -19 -110 ATS. Moneyline has Rutgers +760 and Louisville -1030. Over/Under is 54.5. We like Rutgers +19 and the over -110.
Temple at Cincinnati– Temple is +20.5 -110and Cincy is -20.5 -110. Moneyline is Temple +850 and the Bearcats -1200. O/U is 51.5. Temple is back to being awful again after a brief stint of competitiveness. We like the Bearcats to cover and the over -110.
South Florida at UConn– What has happened to the Bulls? The Bulls are +5 -110 and the Huskies are -5 -110 ATS. Moneyline is USF +180 and UConn -210. O/U is 41. We think UConn covers easily in this one over a Bulls team that was blown out by McNeese State at home. We also like the under -110.
Memphis at Houston– This game should be entertaining. Memphis is not as bad as they usually are. Last week they nearly upset UCF. The Tigers are +9.5 -110 and the Cougars are -9.5 -110. Moneyline for the “Cat Fight” is Memphis +295 and Houston -355. O/U is 52.5. We like Memphis to beat the spread and as always it is a good idea to bet the over in a Houston game.
UCF and SMU both have byes this week. The Knights will get two weeks off to get ready for their showdown with Louisville next week after barely escaping the Liberty Bowl last week. They are hoping the Scarlet Knights can at least give Louisville a tough game this week.
