No. 2 Miami Hurricanes vs. Louisville Cardinals: How to watch, what to know, 3 keys
The No. 2 Miami Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) host the Louisville Cardinals (4-1, 1-1 ACC) on Friday, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium.
Here is what you need to know about the matchup.
How can I watch the Miami Hurricanes vs. Louisville Cardinals game?
The game will be televised on the ESPN and available to stream on the ESPN app.
Who is favored in the Miami Hurricanes vs. Louisville Cardinals game?
The Hurricanes are a 13.5-point favorite over Louisville, according to Odds Shark as of Wednesday morning. The over/under is 51.5 points.
What is the history between the Miami Hurricanes and Louisville Cardinals?
The Hurricanes are 12-4-1 all time against the Cardinals. Miami won last season’s matchup 52-45 and has won three of the past four matchups.
What were the expectations for the Miami Hurricanes and Louisville Cardinals entering the season?
Miami was voted to finish second to Clemson in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference.
Louisville was voted to finish fifth in the ACC.
How has the season gone so far for the Miami Hurricanes and Louisville Cardinals?
The Hurricanes swept through their nonconference schedule, with wins over the then-No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, then-No. 18 USF Bulls and Florida Gators. Miami then opened ACC play with a 28-22 win over Flordia State.
Louisville opened the season with four consecutive wins against Eastern Kentucky, James Madison, Bowling Green and Pittsburgh before losing in overtime to Virginia on Oct. 4.
What are three keys for the Miami Hurricanes against the Louisville Cardinals?
Don’t let schedule quirks impact them: The Hurricanes have been idle two of the past three weeks. Now, they’re playing on a Friday night. Schedule quirks can get the best of teams if they let them. Miami has been good about focusing on the task at hand. They’ll need that to continue
Win in the trenches: The Hurricanes have been one of the best teams at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball this season. That will be tested in two very different ways on Friday. Louisville, like Miami, has a strong pass rush which will test the Hurricanes’ offensive line. But the Cardinals, unlike the Hurricanes, have struggled on the offensive line this season, ranking as the eighth-worst Power 4 conference team in both run blocking and pass blocking according to Pro Football Focus. UM’s defensive line could have a field day.
Defend home turf: The Hurricanes have won 10 consecutive games at Hard Rock Stadium dating back to the start of the 2024 season. They have four more regular-season games on their home field this season, all in league play (Louisville, Stanford, Syracuse and N.C. State).
Who are three Miami Hurricanes players to watch?
Rueben Bain Jr.: The junior has been arguably the best defensive player in college football and his ability to impact the line of scrimmage has been integral to Miami’s success on defense. Louisville’s offensive line has graded out poorly this season, giving Bain the opportunity for another strong showing.
Malachi Toney: Toney leads all freshmen with an average of 75 receiving yards per game and is one of four first-year players with at least three receiving touchdowns. He also leads Miami with 29 catches and 375 yards.
Mark Fletcher Jr.: The junior running back is sixth in the ACC in rushing yards (428) and tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns (five). He leads what is at full strength a three-headed attack with CharMar “Marty” Brown and Jordan Lyle.
Who are three Louisville Cardinals players to watch?
Chris Bell: The senior wide receiver leads Louisville with 35 catches for 502 yards and four touchdowns. His 100.4 receiving yards per game lead the ACC and rank fifth nationally.
Antonio Watts: The redshirt junior linebacker has done a little bit of everything for Louisville’s defense. In addition to having a share of the team lead with two interceptions, Watts has 19 tackles, three-and-a-half tackles for loss, two sacks and a pair of pass breakups.
Caullin Lacy: In addition to having 27 catches for 287 yards, the redshirt senior has returned two punts for touchdowns and is averaging 21.4 yards per kickoff return, making Lacy arguably the most dynamic special teams threat the Hurricanes have faced thus far.
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