No. 6 Louisville, after taking care of business at Kentucky over the weekend, heads back home to host 0-3 Florida International Saturday afternoon at Papa John's Stadium (noon ET).

As of early this week the Cardinals, who have split two games with the Panthers the last two years, were favored by 42 points over FIU, which just lost convincingly to Bethune-Cookman (of FCS).

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View Florida International vs Louisville Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: Louisville were sitting as 41-point favorites earlier in the week at Sportsbook. The total was to be set a bit later in the week for over under betting purposes.

Power Rankings / Prediction: According to the Power Rankings here at OddsShark it's the No. 5-rated Cardinals and the No. 125-rated Golden Panthers in this matchup. Predictive formulas point to a 55--7 win for the Cardinals on Saturday.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Louisville's No. 31-ranked offense (40 PPG) against a Golden Panthers defense that ranks No. 116 at 38.3 PPG. The Cardinals passing attack has averaged 354.3 yards per game, more than the Golden Panthers give up through the air (196 YPG on average).

In comparing defenses, the Golden Panthers own the league's No. 82-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 251 yards per game when on the road. Louisville, on the other hand, rates No. 90 this week in generating rushing yards at home.

Florida International lost its last outing, a 34-13 result against Bethune-Cookman on September 14. Florida International failed to cover in that game as a 3-point underdog, while the 47 combined points took the game OVER the total. Last time out, Florida International could not slow down WinningWR, who managed 125 receiving yards in the Wildcats 34-13 victory over the Golden Panthers Saturday.

Last time out for Louisville, they were a 27-13 Sportsbook as they battled Kentucky on the road. Louisville covered in the match as a 12.5-point favorite, while 40 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors. Senorise Perry tore up the turf for 100 rushing yards in the latest Cardinals game, a 27-13 win over the Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium.


Florida International Golden Panthers Trends:
When playing in September are 3-7
When playing on turf are 1-9
After being outgained are 2-8
When playing outside the conference are 2-8

Louisville Cardinals Trends:
When playing in September are 9-1
When playing on turf are 8-2
After outgaining opponent are 9-1
When playing outside the conference are 9-1

A few Golden Panthers at Cardinals trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Florida International's last 7 games on the road
Florida International is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Florida International is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Florida International is 2-11 SU in its last 13 games
Louisville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Louisville is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Louisville's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Louisville's last 6 games at home


Next up:
Florida International at Southern Miss, Saturday, October 5
Louisville at Temple, Saturday, October 5