Louisville Opens as Massive Home Favorite vs. Eastern Kentucky

The Louisville football program is opening up their 2025 season at home against in-state FCS foe Eastern Kentucky, and as you can imagine, oddsmakers like them to win big to kick off the season.

According to FanDuel, the Cardinals have opened up as a huge 38.5-point favorite to the visiting Colonels. The over/under has been set at 56.5.

Louisville is heading into their 2025 season with relatively high expectations. In year two under head coach Jeff Brohm last season, the Cardinals finished 9-4 overall, including snapping losing streaks against both Clemson and Kentucky, and capturing a Sun Bowl win against Washington.

Despite losing players like Ashton Gillotte, Quincy Riley and Tyler Shough, Louisville is bringing back multiple impact playmakers, such as WR Chris Bell, RB Isaac Brown, LB Stanquan Clark, and several others. The Cardinals also bolstered their roster via the portal this offseason, bringing over pieces like USC QB Miller Moss and Coastal Carolina DE Clev Lubin.

As for the Colonels, they are coming off of a solid season by their standards. While their lost two games vs. FBS opponents by a combined 87-7, they still went 8-4 in the regular season to earn an at-large bid for the FCS Playoffs.

However, head coach Walt Wells' squad is going to look a tad different in 2025. Starting quarterback Matt Morrissey and running back Joshua Carter both graduated, while leading tackler linebacker Maddox Marcellus transferred to Virginia. A few solid defensive pieces remain, such as linebacker Braden Sullivan and defensive lineman Darrian Baker, but it's still a defense that ranked 81st in the FCS in 2024.

Kickoff vs. Eastern Kentucky is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30 at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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