The Louisville Cardinals are coming into the 2013 season as national championship contenders after defeating Florida in the Sugar Bowl and with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater coming in as a Heisman candidate, coach Charlie Strong knows that the team will have a target on them and it starts with Ohio on Saturday.
The Cardinals are ranked ninth in the nation after defeating Florida and going 11-2 last season as a surprise winner out of the Big East and Bridgewater comes back after a fantastic season after throwing for nearly 3,800 yards and 27 touchdowns and now he will be looking for even more. The Cardinals will be one of the most experienced teams in the Top 25 after bringing back 19 total starters and 12 of them coming on defense and junior center Jake Smith is coming in as one of the top linemen in the nation and Ohio could be a tough test after defeating Penn State to open the season last year.
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The Bobcats had a nice run and almost ended up being BCS busters and now they will play a Cardinals team that dominated Florida in the Sugar Bowl last season and now will be looking for more. The Cardinals have plenty of weapons on offense, including senior Senorise Perry in the backfield and Michael Dyer comes after playing at Auburn and rushing for 1,000 yards in two different seasons and the defense will be improved from last year as well and they could have a tough test in Ohio, as Beau Blankenship showed off his talent last season, rushing for over 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns.
The Bobcats have some talent on offense as well, including Tyler Tettleton at quarterback after he threw for 18 scores and over 2,800 yards last season and an upset would be one of the biggest of opening week. A number of games with teams in the top 10 were blowouts, but there is a good chance that Ohio and Louisville will be closer, although the Cardinals are the favorites to win the game. Last season the Cardinals went 11-2 and 5-2 in the Big East, including 1-0 against the top 25 and they will open against Ohio and then have some easier games before playing Rutgers in the Big East. The schedule puts Louisville in a nice spot to go undefeated if Bridgewater can play well, with the toughest games being Cincinnati, Houston, South Florida and UConn, but nothing against top 25 teams currently and Ohio is a tough way to start.