The Louisville Cardinals (+5) are making a trip south to take on their in-conference nemesis Miami (FL) Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. ESPN2 has the TV rights and this crucial afternoon matchup is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Louisville Cardinals at Miami (FL) Hurricanes Betting Preview
Louisville is the road underdog in this ACC matchup and is currently being given 5 points at PointsBet. The Cardinals are also receiving +180 moneyline odds while the Hurricanes are -220. Vegas has determined the over/under (O/U) to be 51.5 points. It appears that there should be multiple good live betting opportunities for the game.
The game’s O/U has swung lower after opening at 53. The original line (-5) has yet to change.
The surprising Cardinals have gained 3.9 units so far in 2019 and are 5-3 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a decent under bet and have posted an O/U record of 3-5. The disappointing Hurricanes have lost 21.6 units this season. The team is 5-4 ATS and has an O/U record of 4-5.
The Cardinals have gone 5-3 straight up (SU), including 3-2 SU against conference opponents. The Hurricanes are 5-4 SU overall and 3-3 SU in conference play.
The Cards just put together a 28-21 win over Virginia on October 26. Malik Cunningham completed six passes for just 126 yards and one touchdown. Javian Hawkins (136 yards on 28 rush attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Cunningham (97 yards on 11 carries, one TD) spearheaded the running attack in the win. Chatarius Atwell (six receptions, 122 yards, one TD) and Dez Fitzpatrick (one catch, 10 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Miami (FL) enters this one after just earning a 27-10 win over Florida State. The defense held its ground in the victory, keeping the Seminoles to only 172 passing yards and 31 yards on the ground. Cam Akers was a bright spot in the defeat, posting 66 rushing yards on 22 attempts for Florida State. For Miami (FL), Jarren Williams completed 21-of-37 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns. DeeJay Dallas (61 yards on 18 rush attempts, one TD) mounted the ground attack in the win while Brevin Jordan (six receptions, 48 yards) and Jeff Thomas (four catches, 84 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack.
Louisville has run the ball on 65.6 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Miami (FL) has a rush percentage of 47.1 percent. The Cardinals have produced 218 rush yards/game (including 194 per game versus Atlantic Coast opponents) and have 16 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Hurricanes are putting up 111 rushing yards per game (101 in conference) and have 13 total rush TDs.
The Cards offensive scheme has logged 227 yards/game through the air overall (250 per game against conference opposition) and has 16 passing TDs so far. The Hurricanes have put up 269 pass yards per game (271.2 in the ACC) and have 18 total pass scores.
Defensively, Louisville has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 178 yards and pass for 259 yards per game. The Miami (FL) defense has allowed 191.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 97.8 yards per game to opposing runners. The Hurricanes are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.6 to opposing QBs, while the Cardinals have given up a 6.85 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Cunningham has amassed 946 yards this year. He’s connected on 50-of-76 attempts with eight passing scores and only one interception. Cunningham has an 11.42 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 5.27 over the past two games.
Look for a balanced approach offensively from Louisville in this one. Javian Hawkins, Chatarius Atwell and Malik Cunningham have combined for 513 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns over the last couple of outings.
On the other sideline, Jarren Williams has completed 111-of-164 passes for 1,399 yards, nine TDs and three INTs. Williams’ ANY/A sits at 6.96 for the year and 8.68 over his past two games.
K.J. Osborn (345 receiving yards, four receiving touchdowns this season), DeeJay Dallas (547 rush yards, seven rush TDs, 126 receiving yards, one receiving TD) and Dee Wiggins (217 receiving yards, one receiving TD) have combined for 305 total yards and three touchdowns over the last two games.
These two ACC foes did not get a chance to face one another in 2018.
Free NCAA Betting Tip: Louisville Cardinals at Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Louisville – 18, Miami 21 – Take Louisville and Under
Betting Trends
The Miami (FL) defense has notched 34 sacks on the year while Louisville has just 18.
Miami (FL) has lost five fumbles in 2019 while the Louisville offense has lost seven.
The Cardinals offense has produced 11 pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Hurricanes have put up six such plays.
The Louisville defense has allowed seven pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Miami (FL) has given up six such plays.
The Louisville offense has created 18 rushing plays of 20+ yards, while Miami (FL) has created 11 such runs.
The Cardinals defense has allowed 12 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Hurricanes have given up five such runs.
Louisville has won four of its last five games SU, with a 35-point loss to Clemson on October 19th representing the only defeat over that stretch.
Louisville has averaged 4.6 yards per rush attempt over its past three games and 4.4 over its last two.
Miami (FL) has averaged 3.0 yards per carry over its last three outings and 1.8 over its last two.