2013 Record: 12-1

2014 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 8.5*

2014 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Over'

Bobby Petrino is one of the bigger scumbags in college athletics. But man, that guy can coach. So because he has proven that he can win ball games the Cardinals have welcomed their prodigal son back to Papa John's Stadium.

Petrino inherits a solid program thanks to the outstanding work of Charlie Strong. The Cardinals have gone 23-3 the past two years and were a three-point loss away from running the table last season. Petrino will have to replace stud quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and a load of talent from the nation's No. 1 defense. But Petrino, behind an intricate offensive system, went 41-9 in four seasons during his first stint with the Cards.

Louisville begins this season against Miami, the team it beat to end last year. Both teams will be breaking in new quarterbacks and a host of new starters on both sides of the ball. The rest of September is very manageable. Back-to-back road games at Syracuse and at Clemson can be tricky. And a three-game stretch versus Florida State, at Boston College and at Notre Dame will test this team.

It's very tough to know how the post-Strong, post-Bridgewater Cardinals are going to respond. And they are making a significant shift from a defense-oriented team to Petrino's pass-happy offensive style.

The Cardinals' toughest games are Miami, at Clemson, Florida State and at Notre Dame. If they can just win one of them I think they would get to nine wins. I think this number is short and I would play 'over'.

2014 Louisville Cardinals Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME (ET) Location Result

Mon, Sep 1st, 2014 Miami-Florida 08:00 PM Papa John`s Cardinal Stadium

Sat, Sep 6th, 2014 Murray State 07:00 PM Papa John`s Cardinal Stadium

Sat, Sep 13th, 2014 at Virginia 12:30 PM David A. Harrison III Field at

Sat, Sep 20th, 2014 at FIU TBA Alfonso Field at FIU

Sat, Sep 27th, 2014 Wake Forest TBA Papa John`s Cardinal Stadium

Fri, Oct 3rd, 2014 at Syracuse 07:00 PM Carrier Dome

Sat, Oct 11th, 2014 at Clemson TBA Clemson Memorial Stadium

Sat, Oct 18th, 2014 NC State TBA Papa John`s Cardinal Stadium

Thu, Oct 30th, 2014 Florida State 07:30 PM Papa John`s Cardinal Stadium

Sat, Nov 8th, 2014 at Boston College TBA Alumni Stadium

Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014 at Notre Dame 03:30 PM Notre Dame Stadium

Sat, Nov 29th, 2014 Kentucky TBA Papa John`s Cardinal Stadium

All Times EST

*Season Win Total Odds from Raphael Esparza. Esparza was a Las Vegas sportsbook manager for 13 years at some of the largest books on The Strip. He is a proven oddsmaker and this is his projected total.

Robert Ferringo was the top football handicapper in the country last year, earning nearly $8,000 in total football profit in 2013-14 and posting one of the best seasons in America. He hit 62.1 percent for the entire NFL season (95-58) and was amazing down the stretch, closing with 11 of 14 winning NFL weeks and 12 of 15 overall winning football weeks. Robert has posted 3 of 4 winning football seasons, 6 of 7 winning NFL seasons, 30 of 44 winning football months, and 6 of 7 winning NFL preseasons. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System posted another winning season (now 2-for-2) and is 83-58 over the last two years (58.9 percent).

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