Louisville will not win the American Athletic Conference this season, but a one loss campaign is still in the cards for the Cardinals. Teddy Bridgewater and company may be inclined to look ahead to their regular season finale in Cincinnati on December 5th, but first things first. Louisville may want to set its sights on the more formidable Bearcats, but it must deal with Memphis tomorrow afternoon. The Cardinals and Tigers are scheduled to take the field at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium at 12:00pm ET; the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. College Football Odds from Sportsbook.ag have Louisville listed as a -23.5 against the spread home favorite and the Over/Under set at 43.5 points.
Memphis 3-6 record and 1-4 conference mark are not going to scare Charlie Strong's squad, but a closer look at some of its losses might give Louisville pause.
The Tigers, who are coming off back to back wins over UT - Martin and South Florida, lost to Duke and Cincinnati 14-28 and 21-34, respectively, at home, but they fell 17-15 to Middle Tennessee, 17-24 to Central Florida, 15-25 to Houston, and 29-34 to SMU.
Given those numbers a Memphis loss is incredibly likely; however, a blowout is not. The Tigers defense, which ranks 21st in points per game allowed and 14th in yards per game allowed, ought to keep them within 20 points of Louisville.
The Cardinals are an impressive 9-1, but they have not been as dominant since their 5-0 start. Louisville's 24-10 win over Rutgers looks less impressive with each passing week and its 3-0 run since falling to UCF at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium is also something of a mixed bag.
Louisville covered the spread in a 34-3 win over South Florida on October 26th, but it fell short of the number in its last two outings, beating a winless Connecticut team 31-10 and Houston 20-13.
Certainly the Cardinals defense is capable of stifling Memphis' anemic offense, but the 23.5 point line still seems a bit high considering the Tigers have stayed inside that number all season long and against more than a few quality opponents.
Notable Trends: Louisville is 1-5 against the spread in its last six games as a home favorite in the month of November.
Memphis vs Louisville Saturday College Football Odds:
Memphis Tigers +23.5 (-110), Over 43.5 (-110)
Louisville Cardinals -23.5 (-110), Under 43.5 (-110)
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