3* - Louisville (-6)
As much as I would like to see Louisville get knocked out of contention for the National Championship game tonight, it just isn?t going to happen. The Cardinals are a very balanced offensive team and are averaging over 39 points per game. Last week, Petrino?s boys dropped 44 points on the Mountaineers when no one else had topped 24 points all season and WVU was previously only allowing 19 points per game. Louisville has also played exceptional defense in most of their games and is allowing just over 15 points this season.
Rutgers is the feel good story of 2006 but the truth is that the best teams they have beaten this season are South Florida and Pittsburgh and those wins came by a combined 12 points. The Knights have been very stingy on defense in allowing just 73 points all season but none of their previous opponents come close to the skill level of the team they will play tonight. The offense is very run oriented and Louisville will stack the line of scrimmage in an attempt to force Rutgers QB Mike Teel to throw the ball. Teel has six touchdowns and eight interceptions this season, and went 12 for 24 for 91 yards and two interceptions in last year's 56-5 loss to Louisville.
Many have commented on the fact that the line is ?suspiciously? low but ask yourself when was the last time that you saw an 8-0 team getting six points at home. I say don?t overthink this one and be glad that you can get a team that will likely be playing in the National Championship game for less than a touchdown.
As much as I would like to see Louisville get knocked out of contention for the National Championship game tonight, it just isn?t going to happen. The Cardinals are a very balanced offensive team and are averaging over 39 points per game. Last week, Petrino?s boys dropped 44 points on the Mountaineers when no one else had topped 24 points all season and WVU was previously only allowing 19 points per game. Louisville has also played exceptional defense in most of their games and is allowing just over 15 points this season.
Rutgers is the feel good story of 2006 but the truth is that the best teams they have beaten this season are South Florida and Pittsburgh and those wins came by a combined 12 points. The Knights have been very stingy on defense in allowing just 73 points all season but none of their previous opponents come close to the skill level of the team they will play tonight. The offense is very run oriented and Louisville will stack the line of scrimmage in an attempt to force Rutgers QB Mike Teel to throw the ball. Teel has six touchdowns and eight interceptions this season, and went 12 for 24 for 91 yards and two interceptions in last year's 56-5 loss to Louisville.
Many have commented on the fact that the line is ?suspiciously? low but ask yourself when was the last time that you saw an 8-0 team getting six points at home. I say don?t overthink this one and be glad that you can get a team that will likely be playing in the National Championship game for less than a touchdown.
