Four Bold Predictions for Louisville Football

We are hours from it officially being 'game week' and it's time to throw out some predictions for the Louisville football team.

Here are four bold predictions as we are just about a week away from kickoff.

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Each of the past two seasons, Malik Cunningham has completed over 60 percent of his passing attempts. In 2019, he completed just over 62 percent of his passes. In 2020, he completed just over 64 percent of his passes. Cunningham's 2020 completion percentage put him 34th nationally.

After an extremely positive spring and summer under the direction of new quarterback coach Pete Thomas, I truly believe Cunningham is primed for a huge year. Anytime you talk to people around the program, you hear how 'locked in' Cunningham is. He's taken on more of a leadership role, he has worked on checking the ball down, and I think that work will show on the field, especially in the completion percentage category.

Most places have Louisville's win total set at 6.5 or 7 going into the 2021 season. My final prediction for Louisville's regular season is 8-4.

You can feel the confidence coming from the coaching staff, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Combine a solid defense with an efficient Malik Cunningham, and you have a team that is more than capable of going 8-4.

I really want to take Louisville to win game one, but Ole Miss's offense just presents a major challenge.

Here are my game-by-game picks:

Ole Miss - Loss

Eastern Kentucky - Win

UCF - Win

Florida State - Loss

Wake Forest - Win

Virginia - Win

Boston College - Win

NC State - Loss

Clemson - Loss

Syracuse - Win

Duke - Win

Kentucky - Win

The defense has gotten better every year since Bryan Brown took over. And that trend will continue in year three.

Last year, Louisville finished 39th nationally in total defense, and this year they will take another step forward and finish inside the top 25.

The main reason I am so high on Louisville's defense is the play at safety. Transfers Kenderick Duncan and Qwynnterrio Cole had really good fall camps, and both guys look the part at 6-foot-3. When you throw in Ben Perry, Louisville's safety play should be much improved from a year ago.

Let's face it: YaYa Diaby was a disappointment in his first year at Louisville. It's hard to believe that the defensive end didn't record a single sack a season ago.

That won't be the case in 2021.

Diaby transformed his frame, had an excellent fall camp, learned the system, and is going to be a force on the Louisville defensive line.

Not only has defensive line coach Mark Ivey has raved about Diaby, but so has head coach Scott Satterfield.

Diaby goes from zero sacks to 10+ sacks.