LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Another weekend of college football is almost here! But unfortunately for fans of the Louisville football program, they’ll have to wait until next weekend to see the Cardinals take the field, as they’re on their second and final bye week of the season.

While No. 22 Louisville (6-3, 4-2 ACC) is not in action this weekend, there are still plenty of games around college football involving future and past Cardinals opponents. This will give fans both a glimpse into the future of what to expect, and perhaps a team to pull for in hopes of boosting Louisville’s strength of schedule.

Here are a few games Louisville fans should keep tabs on this weekend:

– Channel: ESPN at 12:00 p.m. EST
– Future Date/Past Result: Miami defeated Louisville 52-45 on Saturday, Oct. 19; Louisville defeated Georgia Tech 31-19 on Saturday, Sept. 21.

On one hand, quarterback Cam Ward and the rest of that Miami offense looks like an unstoppable force. On the other hand, the Canes’ defense continues to looks like they can’t stop anybody.

Normally, with this being a road game against a good Georgia Tech squad, this would have trap game implications. That being said, quarterback Haynes King is at risk at missing his third straight game – and GT has not looked anywhere close to the same without him.

There are two schools of thought: cheer for Miami and SMU for SOS purposes (and maybe a very small chance to get in the College Football Playoff as an at-large), or cheer for the two-loss tiebreaker chaos scenario in the ACC. The former seems to be a lot more feasible.

– Channel: The CW at 12:00 p.m. EST
– Future Date/Past Result: Louisville defeated Boston College 31-27 on Friday, Oct. 25

This might not be the marquee game of the weekend in the ACC, but it’s an intriguing one if you ask me. Chestnut Hill might not be Death Valley, but it can be a tricky place to play for good teams.

It’s hard to determine just how good Syracuse really is. Sure, they have a winning record and have a good win at UNLV, but they’ve gotten pantsed by Pitt and have a very bad home loss to Stanford.

Meanwhile, Boston College just needs any sort of positive momentum. They’ve hit a massive midseason slump, dropping three games in a row after starting 4-1. Perhaps the bye week will serve them well.

– Channel: ESPN at 3:30 p.m. EST
– Future Date/Past Result: Louisville defeated Clemson 33-21 on Saturday, Nov. 2

This right hear is the best game that the ACC has to offer this weekend. It might not be a night game, but Lane Stadium is a top-five (maybe top-three) home field advantage in the league, and has helped spring upset specials in the past.

Clemson had been steamrolling teams since their opener, but that was probably due to their relatively easy schedule in ACC play since they were most recently punched in the mouth at home vs. Louisville. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech seemed to had found their footing before choking away a lead at Syracuse last week.

A Clemson win would undoubtedly boost Louisville’s SOS, but a Virginia Tech win would hold the Tigers back from potentially leap-frogging Louisville in the CFP poll. Time will tell which outcome this week will favor the Cards more.

– Channel: NBC at 7:30 p.m. EST
– Future Date/Past Result: Notre Dame defeated Louisville 31-24 on Saturday, Sept. 28

I won’t spend a ton of time here, because the records of the two teams battling speaks for itself. Notre Dame a CFP contender that has really started to reach peak efficiency over the last month, while Florida State has been a complete and total disaster in every sense of the phrase.

On paper, this game shouldn’t even be close – especially with this being in South Bend. Then again… Notre Dame should have wiped the floor with NIU, and we all know what happened there.

– Channel: NBC at 7:30 p.m. EST
– Future Date/Past Result: Louisville defeated Virginia 24-20 on Saturday, Oct. 12; Louisville hosts Pitt on Saturday, Nov. 23

While Miami and SMU are in the driver’s seat for the ACC title game, Pitt still has a small chance of getting to Charlotte. Considering how much SMU worked them on both sides of the ball, the Panthers will certainly want to make a statement.

Meanwhile, Virginia is just looking to get back in the right direction. They has promise to start the year, but are now starting a three straight losses, and have an incredibly difficult end to their regular season.

Normally, Louisville fans would want Virginia to win hear because of SOS purposes. But if Pitt comes out on top, it all but assures a top-25 matchup next weekend. Looking at the rest of the slate across college football, it might even mean an appearance from College GameDay.

(Photo of Louie: Jamie Rhodes – Imagn Images)

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