This is your 3-2-1, where we break down three things we learned this week, two questions we have and give one prediction.

The content is brought to you by The Hoagland Team at RE/MAX Premier Properties.

We are proud to partner with Matthew Hoagland and his team as they will be the presenting sponsor of this feature.

Matthew has helped my family through the process of buying and selling houses, and he can do the same for you.

Contact Matthew:

502-297-1797

or

matthewhoagland@outlook.com

As a reminder, be sure to mention CardinalSports.com when you contact him.

Louisville fans have become used to losing the top local players to Kentucky over the last two coaching regimes, and this week, we were reminded in a major way that things are changing.

In a very tight, and back and forth recruiting battle, Jeff Brohm and Louisville won out against Vince Marrow and Kentucky for former Male and New Albany product Woo Spencer.

In the days leading up to Spencer's announcement, most folks who follow recruiting closely had projected Spencer to head to Lexington.

However, the staff at Louisville kept working on the three-star prospect, and eventually did enough to secure the commitment and signing to close out the 2023 class.

Certainly, Louisville needs to start being competitive in the actual the rivalry game, but protecting the best players in your backyard needed to happen as well, and Jeff Brohm appears to be up for the challenge.

Spencer trains at Aspirations Gym, which is owned by Chris Vaughn, somebody that Louisville hasn't had a great relationship with over the years.

Now that Jeff Brohm is at the helm, those fences appear to have been mended, and Louisville can now expect to be a player for the next crop of talent to come out of Vaughn's gym.

For a breakdown of what type of player Louisville is getting in Spencer, click here.

Kenny Payne and Louisville came into this week win-less in the conference, and had two chances on their home floor against a pair of teams who have had plenty of struggles.

Louisville took advantage of the first of the two opportunities, beating Georgia Tech 68-58 on Wednesday night behind a huge performance from Jae'Lyn Withers.

Withers recorded a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double, to help Louisville down the Yellow Jackets.

With the shot-clock winding down, Kamari Lands hit a tough three-pointer to ice the game.

It wasn't pretty, but Louisville did what they needed to do to pick up that first ACC win. A big reason for that was Louisville holding Georgia Tech to under 30 percent shooting.

On Saturday, Louisville had a golden opportunity to string together consecutive wins as Florida State came to town.

Entering the game, Florida State was just 7-16. However, after a less than ideal first half of basketball, and a lazy beginning to the second half, Louisville found themselves down by 17.

Louisville came roaring back, going on a 24-12 run, and and had a chance to win it, but ultimately came up short.

Florida State scored 19 points off of Louisville's turnovers, and the Seminoles led for 38:44 and never trailed.

If you want to look at this game from a glass half full approach, Louisville didn't quit, and they didn't lay down. Earlier in the season, this team probably rolls over and gets beat by 15-plus points.

Kamari Lands was a bright spot, as the freshman poured in 15 points in 22 minutes.

However, it's tough to overlook the fact that Louisville came out sleep walking, trailed the whole game, and squandered key possessions down the stretch

Jeff Brohm spoke to the media on Wednesday and talked about a number of things, including the new additions from the transfer portal and the high school ranks, and also recapped his final coaching staff announcements.

One thing that I took away from the press conference is that Jeff Brohm has his starting quarterback, and without saying it, he told you all that you need to know.

I have seen several outlets write columns reiterating that there will be a competition, and that Brohm isn't ready to name a starter. Fine. That's NOT how I took Brohm's comments, whatsoever.

"You want to make sure you have talented guys that can win you football games, and lead the team and that can make plays. I do think that it was important to add a veteran to the mix. Jack obviously knows us and knows our system, and he's played a lot of football. So we feel good about him."

Those were Jeff Brohm's words when asked about the quarterback position.

I'm here to tell you that is Brohm confirming that Jack Plummer will be the starter.

Do you need more confirmation?

"Jack does have a lot of experience, and we're bringing him here for a purpose and a reason. We'll give him an opportunity to do his thing, but we also want to continue to develop everybody, and make sure they're all ready to go."

Stop with the narrative that Brohm hinted at anything other than Plummer being the guy.

Sitting at 3-20, and 1-11 in the ACC, Louisville has eight more regular season games left.

Here are the games that I am putting in the 'definite loss' category:

- Pittsburgh (away)

- Miami (away)

- Virginia (home)

- Duke (away)

- Virginia (away)

Here are the games that I am putting in the 'probable loss' category:

- Clemson (home)

- Virginia Tech (home)

Here is the game that I am putting in the 'toss-up' category:

- Georgia Tech (away)

So, where do I land? I am setting the over under on REMAINING wins at 1.5. I will take the over, which would mean I am saying that Louisville needs to win two out of three against Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech.

Let's get it done, Kenny.

For those that missed it, here is the slate for year one under Jeff Brohm:

Sept. 1 (Friday) — vs. Georgia Tech (in Atlanta)

Sept. 7 (Thursday) vs. Murray State

Sept. 16 — vs. Indiana (in Indianapolis)

Sept. 23 — vs. Boston College

Sept. 29 (Friday) — at NC State

Oct. 7 — vs. Notre Dame

Oct. 14 — at Pittsburgh

Oct. 28 — vs. Duke

Nov. 4 — vs. Virginia Tech

Nov. 9 (Thursday) vs. Virginia

Nov. 18 — at Miami

Nov. 25 — vs. Kentucky

Here are a few takeaways:

Louisville's opener being on a Friday night will get a lot more attention than it would have if it had been on a Saturday.

Louisville has a chance to get things rolling early, and will likely be favored in their first four games.

There are four combined week-night games: two on Thursday and two on Friday. Let's play football.

The early transfer portal window has come and gone, but after spring practice, Louisville will have a chance to assess where their position groups stand, and will have the ability to go out and plug any holes that remain.

I believe the three positions of need are at inside linebacker, tight end, and offensive line, and I think you will see those needs addressed in a big way.

April 21st can't get here soon enough.