Analysis: Louisville 2020 Football

The ACC released the 2020 football schedule on the ACC Network's "Packer and Durham" television and radio program Wednesday morning. The Louisville football schedule was released as a part of that and on first glance it has several features that will give Scott Satterfield a chance to equal or exceed last season's 8-5 final record.

The Cardinals will open the 2020 season on (presumably) national television on Thursday night of the opening week with NC State. That will give them the chance to open camp a few days earlier and draw more eyeballs than perhaps they normally would on the opening weekend or when they typically play NC State. While they have the unenviable task of playing Clemson week two, the next four games (Murray State, Western Kentucky at home. Boston College, Syracuse on the road) should allow Louisville to open 5-1. The Cardinals would surely find themselves in the Top 25 at some point in that run if they do so.

Last year Louisville got two bye weeks that allowed a team with absolutely no depth to have three simple four week segments. This year, there's a single bye week, but the opener still gives them extra time for some of the toughest games. I don't give Louisville much of a chance of winning at Clemson, it isn't bad to have ten days to get ready for them (it's worth pointing out that Clemson will also open on Thursday and have ten days to get ready for Louisville). Especially given Clemson's penchant for experimenting and being simple early in the season. Getting a bye week before hosting Florida State, hopefully at 5-1, should help them to be healthy and poised to exceed last year's win total.

If Louisville hopes to have a better record and a better overall season than it did in 2019, it will most likely be determined by how the team performs in the three week stretch following the bye week. Louisville has lost heartbreakers to Florida State the last two seasons. Will it have better luck against the Seminoles in 2020? If so, it would then host Virginia Tech and travel to Virginia likely still in some form of contention in the ACC Atlantic Division. Louisville hasn't played Virginia Tech since joining the ACC. It has struggled in games in Charlottesville (1-2) but did upset the Cavaliers this year in one of the team's better wins of the year. Going 2-1 in this stretch would be a tremendous achievement and improvement over 2019.

The Louisville football schedule doesn't always allow for the staff to have big recruiting weekends during football season. In the past they relied on January and basketball season. Now, with the early signing period, they hurry to get work done in summer and early August. This year, the staff can and should pace itself to cash in on what should be a warm (read: hot as hell) Thursday opener against NC State, home against Florida State and Virginia Tech in late October, and a season finale against Kentucky, to have larger traditional visit weeks to build or close up the class of 2021, which will be vital to the future success of the Satterfield rebuild.