7:30 PM EST, ESPN – Line: Louisville -7.5, Over/Under: 48.5
College football’s annual Labor Day extravaganza continues with an all-ACC affair, as the new-look Louisville Cardinals set course to begin a new era under a familiar face against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who are looking to build upon a tepid finish to the previous campaign. Despite rebounding from a disappointing 2-3 start to a respectable 8-5 finish, Louisville nonetheless faced the task of replacing (former Head Coach) Scott Satterfield, who accepted the offer to take over at Cincinnati, whom the Cardinals ironically hammered in last winter’s Fenway Bowl, 24-7. It didn’t take long for the program to find a new skipper, as (former QB and Assistant Coach) Jeff Brohm, has returned to lead his alma mater into a new era. Of course, the Brohm family has DEEP ties to Louisville, with two different generations playing for the football program; Jeff spent five years there as a Quarterback from 1989 to 1993, compiling 5,451 passing yards and thirty-eight touchdowns, eventually being selected as a member of their ring of honor. Eventually, he would return to the program serving as Quarterbacks Coach, Assistant Head Coach, and lastly Offensive Coordinator from 2003 to 2008 before reuniting with (mentor) Bobby Petrino at Western Kentucky five years later. When Petrino left in 2014, Brohm was promoted to Head Coach, leading the Hilltoppers to a 30-10 (.666) record and a pair of Conference USA championships, eventually leading to his hiring as Purdue’s Head Coach. Success would be harder to grasp in the Big Ten, where he would spend six years compiling a 36-34 (.514) record. However, the Boilermakers showed real signs of life over the last two seasons with a 17-9 mark under his guidance, even earning a spot in the conference championship game, where they were blown out by Michigan, 22-43, causing the 52-year-old to resign from his post afterwards. In his homecoming, the Louisville native inherits thirteen returning starters from last year’s team, including seven from a stout defense that permitted just 19.2 points (11th Overall) on 330.2 total yards, including 197.0 yards against the pass and another 133.2 versus the run, while forcing a healthy thirty takeaways and leading the FBS with FIFTY sacks. Alongside longtime collaborators (Co-Defensive Coordinators) Ron English and Mark Hagen, this unit should continue to keep them in games. However, the biggest questions come with Quarterback, where Brohm has quite the quandary on his hands. After dynamic dual-threat Malik Cunningham opted to take his talents to the NFL, the Cardinals are left with question marks at the position. (Senior Quarterback) Brock Domann started four games in relief of an injured Cunningham last season but failed to impress with four touchdowns opposed to six interceptions. Expected to start tonight is (California transfer) Jack Plummer, who performed well in his lone season with the Golden Bears, completing 62.5% of his passes for 3,119 yards, twenty-one touchdowns and nine interceptions. Of course, he has the inside track on Brohm’s offense, having transferred from Purdue to Berkley two years ago. Speaking of Quarterbacks, joining Brohm’s coaching staff is his younger brother, Brian, who also played for the redbirds, while working under his sibling at Purdue and Western Kentucky. Looking to this particular matchup, tonight’s encounter marks just the third all-time meeting between these schools, with Teach taking each of the previous two meetings, including a 66-31 blowout back in 2018 and a 46-27 drubbing two years later. From a betting perspective, Louisville, was both 8-5 straight-up and against the spread last season, though was 4-4 against the spread versus their conference brethren and failed to cover their lone outing as a road favorite (at Syracuse, 7-31). Between his tenures at Western Kentucky and Purdue, Brohm owns a middling 59-50-1 record against the spread, covering half of the twenty instances in which his teams have been favored on the road. Furthermore, they have covered four consecutive games when favored, regardless of the venue. With that said, tonight’s matchup is technically a neutral affair, with the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff contested at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which is a venue that the Cardinals are indeed familiar with, participating in for the third time over the last eight years; previously, they were defeated by (No. 6) Auburn (24-31) in 2015 before losing to Ole Miss (24-43) in 2021. On the injury front, the defense was dealt a hefty blow with the loss of (Junior Safety) M.J. Griffin, who suffered a significant lower-leg injury two weeks ago, ending his season altogether. The Defensive Back really came into his own last season, registering forty-five tackles, a pair of interceptions, and a forced fumble in a dozen games with the Cards.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is looking to prove that they can in fact turn the tide after firing their Head Coach despite keeping the bulk of his coaching staff intact. Indeed, (former Head Coach) Geoff Collins accepted quite the unenviable task when he was hired by the Yellow Jackets, taking over a team that had been built to run the triple-option and slowly transform them into a more conventional offense. Of course, the disparity in personnel is grand, and in this case, Collins was expected to receive a rather long leash in order to see such an arduous rebuilding project through. However, coaches across the country may preach the value of patience, but it is all too rare that they receive it from the schools that they work for. Collins would go on to win exactly three games in each of his first three seasons in Atlanta, while a disappointing 1-4 start to the 2022 campaign sealed his fate. Replacing him on an interim basis was (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach) Brent Key, who prior to joining Collins original staff served as Nick Saban’s Offensive Line Coach at Alabama from 2016 to 2018. With expectations low, the 45-year-old lit a fire under his alma mater, posting a promising 4-4 record down the stretch, including stunning upsets over ranked opponents such as (No. 24) Pittsburgh (26-21) and (No. 13) North Carolina (21-17), both of which came on the road. During this period, they began to take much better care of the football, committing just nine turnovers while capitalizing on their opponents’ mistakes with sixteen takeaways, including three in that unexpected victory over the Panthers. That experience should do them good, as Georgia Tech has twelve returning starters, including seven from that opportunistic defense. As for the offense, Key will be looking to further their growth with a pair of new faces in the form of Co-Offensive Coordinators, Buster Faulkner and Chris Weinke; the former served as an analyst for (two-time reigning National Champion) Georgia after stints calling plays for South Carolina, Arkansas State, and Middle Tennessee State, while the latter had been Tennessee’s QB Coach from 2019 to 2020. Who emerges at Quarterback will ultimately dictate the fate of this unit, with Haynes King, Zach Gibson, and Zach Pyron all competing for the starting job. King, a highly-touted recruit by way of Texas A&M has loads of potential, but has battled injuries throughout his collegiate career, starting just seven games during his time with the Aggies. Gibson and Pyron saw action throughout the final six games of 2022, with the latter breaking his collarbone in a loss to Miami. A highly recruited prospect, Pyron completed 59.8% of his passes for 565 yards with three touchdowns and interceptions apiece in three starts, while rushing for another 127 yards and two scores to boot. The Redshirt Freshman gained valuable experience last season and could take over if King fails to catch on in a new offense. Looking to this particular matchup, the Yellow Jackets utterly dominated their only two previous encounters, outscoring the Cardinals by a whopping FIFTY-FOUR points. Interestingly, they were home dogs in the latter affair (+5), which is roughly equivalent to the spread handed to them tonight. Believe it or not, the hosts trailed 7-21 late in the second quarter, only to completely flip the script on the visitors, scoring the final twenty points of the game. From a betting perspective, Georgia Tech finished last season a middling 6-6 against the spread, with a 4-4 mark against conference opposition. Key’s troops were 1-1 against the spread as a home underdog, besting Duke in overtime, 23-20 despite receiving three points from the oddsmakers. With this particular affair being contested at a “neutral” site, it is worth mentioning that the Yellow Jackets have covered the line in five straight games as underdogs of 3.5-10 points that fit said criteria, which is the case tonight. In fact, they have covered all but one of their last seven outings as an underdog, regardless of the venue. On the injury front, Key will be without (Sophomore Receiver) Leo Blackburn for the season due to a torn ACL suffered in practice earlier this month, though (Sophomore Tight End) Brent Seither is probable to participate in tonight’s clash with the Cardinals after dealing with tightness in his back this week.