Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Miami by 4.5.

—State of the U is already calling for a 36-30 Miami victory.

—Louisville volleyball outside hitter Anna DeBeer has been named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week, while redshirt junior middle blocker Cara Cresse was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week.

—New Card Tape is out.

—We’ve entered the “actually, Lamar is better than ever” portion of the football calendar.

—The latest CC Podcast episode is here.

—The October Surprise is a Jeff Brohm trademark. Louisville could use one against Miami.

—Louisville freshman Isaac Brown was named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll for his performance against Virginia.

—The Louisville women’s basketball team checks in at No. 14 in On3’s preseason top 25.

—I really don’t wanna.

—Louisville women’s soccer junior goalkeeper Erynn Floyd has been named ACC Defensive Player of the Week

—Despite it seeming to make a lot of sense, Louisville is not in the mix for a WNBA expansion franchise.

—Carmichael’s, Louisville’s oldest independent bookseller, is celebrating 45 years in business.

—Lamar Jackson is once again looking like an NFL MVP, but this time as a pure passer.

Well, all the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player (2019 and 2023) can do is to keep proving them wrong. And he’s certainly doing it in a 2024 season that has Jackson potentially tussling for MVP honors with Derrick Henry, his own running back. Henry’s addition to the team, and the ways in which the Ravens have been able to beat opponents over the head with their peerless rushing concepts, have further obscured Jackson’s effect as a thinking and executing quarterback.

Let’s blow that misappraisal to smithereens right now. Through the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season, Jackson has completed 118 of 176 passes for 1,529 yards, 10 touchdowns, two interceptions, a passer rating of 108.4 (only Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield are better), a Passing EPA of 40.5 (only Jayden Daniels and Josh Allen are better), and an Adjusted Yards per Attempt of 9.31, which leads the league.

But wait, there’s more. From the pocket this season, Jackson has completed 108 of 156 passes for 1,331 yards, 581 air yards, six touchdowns, two interceptions, a passer rating of 102.8, and a Passing EPA of +35.5 — only Brock Purdy (+39.9) is better in that regard.

By the way, Jackson’s two interceptions this season? One came in Week 6 against the Washington Commanders when Jackson threw a quick out to tight end Mark Andrews, who bobbled the slightly off-target throw right into the hands of defensive back Mike Sainristil.

The other pick came in Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders, when Jackson’s quick stop route throw to receiver Rashod Bateman was bobbled and stolen by linebacker Robert Spillane.

—A look at how former Cardinals in the NFL fared in week six.

—Cardinal Authority has a notebook from the Virginia game.

—College Football News is predicting an 8-4 finish for the Louisville football team, with losses at Clemson and Kentucky.

—On3 has Louisville at No. 4 in its preseason ACC men’s basketball power rankings.

Tier 2, fighting for a spot in the top 25

4. Louisville

Head Coach Pat Kelsey (261-122 overall, first year at Louisville)

2023-24: 8-24 (3-17 ACC)

The Buzz: Pat Kelsey returns zero players from last season’s Louisville team. The 12-year D1 head coach, cleaned house from the 12-52 two-year stint of the previous Kenny Payne. With that, Kelsey brought in 12 transfers and a one-man freshman class to completely revamp the Cardinals’ roster.

This season’s Louisville team will have experience and depth. But to go along with that they will have length, versatility, and skill. Last season, at the College of Charleston, Kelsey had 10 players who played in 32 or more games and averaged over 10 minutes per game. He built his Louisville roster similarly, where they might not have one individual who shines, but a collective group of players who have experience getting the job done. The first player to commit out of the Transfer Portal was James Madison wing Terrence Edwards (6-6/190). The reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year has scored over 1,400 career points and averaged 17.2 points and 3.4 assists last season. Senior Kasean Pryor (6-10/210), a transfer from USF, might be the most versatile big in the league. He averaged 1.9 stocks last season while shooting 35.2 percent from three. Senior guard Chucky Hepburn (6-2/195) earned Big Ten All-Defense honors after finishing second in the league with 2.1 steals per game. He comes into a much faster-paced Louisville system after scoring 1,013 points and dishing 313 assists in three seasons at Wisconsin.

The team is well stocked behind Edwards, Pryor, and Hepburn. PAC 12 Sixth Man of the Year, 6-foot-2 guard Koren Johnson averaged 11.1 points and 2.7 assists at Washington last season. Seniors Noah Waterman (6-11/210), Reyne Smith (6-2/180), and J’Vonne Hadley (6-6/200) combined to shoot 189-486 (38.9%) from three while combining to start 97 games last season. The most unique player on the roster might be Long Beach State transfer Aboubacar Traore (6-5/190) who averaged 12.0 points. 8.4 assists, 4.5 assists, and 2.9 stocks last season while only attempting 23 threes.

While the rotation gets sorted out, the two highest-ceiling long-term prospects might be 6-foot-10 sophomore James Scott and 6-foot-8 freshman Khani Rooths. Expect this year’s team to be deep and expect their defense to be versatile and their offense to be able to move the ball and shoot it.

—Depth charts are out for Saturday’s showdown at L&N Stadium.

—Jeff Brohm says he’s pleased with some of the improvements his team showcased in its win at Virginia.

—SI’s Kevin Sweeney has some thoughts on the first AP top 25 poll of the men’s basketball season.

—Props to the staff at Ali for being so on top of things.

—Louisville native and U of L product Will Smith has been named a finalist for the 2024 Gold Glove Award.

—Miami feels like they let one slip away against Louisville last season, but the 2024 Hurricanes have already shown that they know how to finish.

—You can watch Mario Cristobal’s preview of Louisville here.

—And finally, the Mike Rutherford Show is back this afternoon from 3-6 on The Big X. You can stream it here.