Louisville Football vs. LSU: 5 Bold Predictions For The Citrus Bowl

Take a quick look at our five bold predictions for Louisville football’s bow; game against the LSU Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

The big day is finally upon us, as the Louisville football team will be squaring off with the LSU Tigers on Saturday afternoon in the 2016 Citrus Bowl. The Cardinals will be looking to beat the Tigers and end their two-game losing streak, while the Tigers are looking to shut down the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner.

This game will surely be entertaining and will be competitive throughout.

With that being said, let’s look at our five bold predictions for the game:

Nov 12, 2016; Fayetteville, AR, USA; LSU Tigers running back Derrius Guice (5) leaps over the goal line after a 94 yard touchdown run as Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Jared Collins (29) can

5. Derrius Guice Won’t Rush For Over 100 Yards

Derrius Guice is the future of running backs in the Southeastern Conference and maybe even the country. Coming into this year as Leonard Fournettes’ back-up, Guice took advantage of Fournette missing time and was the SEC’s leading rusher at the end of the regular season.

With that being said, I don’t think that Guice is more special than Dalvin Cook at Florida State or Wayne Gallman at Clemson. The Cards played pretty well against these guys and I expect them to be focused on shutting Guice down on Saturday.

He will have his opportunities to get carries just because of how LSU runs their offense, but the Cards will be able to load the box against Tigers’ quarterback Danny Etling.

Etling doesn’t possess an arm that will give Louisville’s secondary much trouble, but we did say the same thing about UK quarterback Stephen Johnson a few weeks ago.

Nov 26, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) receives congratulations from teammates during the first quarter the Kentucky Wildcats at Papa John

4. Lamar Jackson, On The Other Hand, Will Rush For Over 100 Yards

All eyes are going to be on Lamar Jackson Saturday afternoon, as the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner will be looking to lead his team to victory. He will be going up against one of the best defenses in the entire country and he could have a very productive day on the ground for the Cards.

I don’t think he will be able to throw for a bunch of yards, but due to the Cards’ offensive line, Jackson will have to use his legs to win.

With that being said, if Jackson can just focus on moving the chains, rather than always looking for the big play, then the Cardinals will be able to move the football just fine against the Tigers.

However, trying to do too much will result in a long and painful day for the Cards.

Nov 24, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Danny Etling (16) signals after a play during the third quarter against the Texas A&M Aggiest at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

3. Louisville’s Defense Will Hold LSU To Less Than 20 Points

Just from looking at what LSU has been able to do on offense this season, it doesn’t take long to realize that they aren’t nearly as good as some of the other teams Louisville has played. To be more specific, these guys from LSU are only scoring 28.3 points per game.

Take a look at each team Louisville faced that has a better “points per game” average in 2016 then LSU:

Point being, the Cardinals’ defense is used to facing elite offensive talent on most weekends. All of the teams mentioned above gave the Cards major problems, as they lost to three the four teams listed.

However, the Tigers don’t have the high-scoring offense that could come out and outscore Lamar Jackson and the Louisville offense on Saturday.

Sep 9, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals tight end Cole Hikutini (18) runs with the ball after a catch as Syracuse Orange defensive lineman De

2. Cole Hikutini Will Be The Game’s Leading Receiver

It feels absolutely terrible that this is Cole Hikutini’s last game in a Louisville football uniform. I expect that he will come out and have one of his best games of the entire 2016 season and lead all receivers and tight-ends in receiving yards and touchdowns on Saturday.

If i’m LSU, I am going to blitz and blitz and blitz and send even more pressure on Lamar Jackson. As we all know, Louisville’s offensive line has been playing very bad, but this could give Hikutini some major mismatches.

Jackson needs to keep his eyes downfield, instead of being so focused on the pressure coming through the line of scrimmage. If the Cards let Hikutini sneak out from the line, then he is going to have numerous opportunities to catch the football in the flat on Saturday.

Again, this is all dependent on Jackson’s ability to mentally handle the blitzes he will see from LSU.

Oct 22, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) stiff arms North Carolina State Wolfpack safety Josh Jones (11) during the first quarter at Papa John

1. Louisville Will Beat LSU By The Score Of 27-17

I believe that Louisville will end their two-game losing streak by beating the LSU Tigers on Saturday. The Cards are going go bring in a ton of offensive firepower that LSU hasn’t seen this season.

The Cardinals are coming off two losses that were completely embarrassing on multiple levels, therefore they will be looking to end their season on a high note, by knocking off one of the best programs in all of college football.

Louisville’s defense is going to be one of the biggest reasons why the Cards will win on Saturday. If they can keep Derrius Guice in check, then I don’t think that Danny Etling can be productive enough to keep the Tigers in the football game.