Following the first win of the season under the lights on Friday night against Indiana State, Indiana has an extra day to prepare for a tough non-conference test against the Louisville Cardinals.
Louisville is riding high after a 56-0 win Thursday night against Murray State in Louisville and has an even more time than Indiana to prepare for Saturday's matchup.
The Hoosiers (1-1, 0-1 in Big Ten play) square off against Louisville (2-0, 1-0 in ACC play) this upcoming Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
Here's a first look at Indiana's opponent in Indianapolis, the Louisville Cardinals..
KEY PLAYERS
- QB Jack Plummer: Now in his fifth season of college football, Plummer is back with the head coach he started his career with. Plummer spent his first three collegiate seasons at Purdue under now-Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm. After Brohm took the head coaching job with the Cardinals this offseason, Plummer swiftly chose to reunite his former head coach, transferring from Cal after spending just one season with the Golden Bears. Despite the success the team has had to begin the season, Plummer has struggled. The former three-star recruit has thrown for just under 500 yards, has four touchdowns passes to go along with three interceptions through the first two games of the season. The 6-foot-5 quarterback has tons of experience at the collegiate level.
- RB Jawhar Jordan: After leading the Cardinals in rushing a season ago, Jordan, a Syracuse transfer, is back in Louisville and off to a strong start to the season. He ran for 96 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Georgia Tech and followed that up with a 135-yard, two touchdown performance on Thursday against Murray State. What makes those numbers jaw-dropping is the fact that Jordan has just 14 carries on the year, he's averaging 16.5 yards per carry. The redshirt junior running back has touchdown runs of 74 yards and 72 yards so far this season. The former three-star recruit is a game-breaker for the Louisville offense.
- WR Jamari Thrash: A former All-Sun Belt receiver at Georgia State, Thrash transferred to Louisville in the offseason and has quickly assumed the No. 1 receiver role for the Cardinals. Thrash has 10 receptions for 170 yards and has hauled in three touchdowns to begin his career at Louisville. The redshirt junior isn't an athletic freak of nature, but the 6-foot-1, 185 pound Georgia native has produced big numbers throughout his collegiate career.
- DB Devin Neal: A Kentucky native, Neal is back playing in his home state after spending his first three collegiate seasons at Baylor. Neal, a playmaker in the secondary for the Cardinals, has an interception and a fumble recovery to his name already this season. Neal is also second on the team in tackles. At 6-foot, 210 pounds, Neal is a physical defensive back with a knack for making big plays.
KEY STATS
- Jeff Brohm is in his first season as the head coach at Louisville. Brohm is 68-44 in his career as a head coach.
- Louisville has not given up any points in the first or third quarters this season.
- The Cardinals rushing attack has spearheaded a potent offense to begin the season. As a team, Louisville is averaging 7.3 yards per carry. The offense is averaging 47.5 points per game through their first two contests.
- Louisville has struggled to convert on third-down this season. The Cardinals are 5/22 (22.7 percent) on third-downs to begin the year.
NOTES
- Jeff Brohm is 4-2 all-time as a head coach against Indiana. He went 4-1 against the Hoosiers as the head coach of Purdue and lost the only game he played against Indiana as the head coach at Western Kentucky.
- Quarterback Jack Plummer completed one pass for two yards against Indiana on Nov. 27, 2021.
- Indiana is 2-0 all-time against Louisville. The two teams haven't met since 1986.
- Louisville went 8-5 last season, beating Cincinnati in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
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