Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0-0, 0-0 UAC) at Louisville Cardinals (0-0, 0-0 ACC)

- Kickoff: Saturday, August 30 at 3:00 p.m. EST
- Location: L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
- Weather Conditions: Sunny skies. High 82F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -38.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 20-8-1
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 30-3 on Sept. 11, 2021 (L&N Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Game Notes

Louisville

• The Cardinals are 57-42-6 in season openers and are looking for their third-straight season-opening win after last season’s 62-0 win over Austin Peay and the 39-34 win to open the Jeff Brohm era against Georgia Tech in 2023.
• Head coach Jeff Brohm has won at least nine games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2014. The third-year coach is 19-8 after two seasons with an appearance in the ACC title game in 2023 and a Sun Bowl win last season.
• The Cardinals will equal a school record with eight home games in 2025 — matching the most since 2008 season when it opened the year with four straight at home. Louisville is 10-3 at L&N Stadium under Brohm.
• Running back Isaac Brown returns after one of the most electrifying and productive seasons by a true freshman in school history. The Miami native rushed for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns and set the school record for most rushing yards by a true freshman.
• Wide receiver Chris Bell is the team’s top returning wide receiver. The senior caught 43 passes for 737 yards and four touchdowns. The Mississippi native registered a pair of 100-yard receiving games — recording a career high 112 yards versus Stanford and 101 yards against Pitt
• The duo in the backfield of Isaac Brown and Duke Watson combined to run for 1,770 yards and 18 touchdowns a year ago. Brown rushed for 1,173 yards and 11 scores, while Watson added 597 yards and eight touchdowns. The two combined to average 7.63 yards per carry last season with Watson leading the country at 8.9 yards per carry.
• The Cardinals are looking to improve to on its 70-33-3 overall record in home openers. Louisville is attempting to win its third-straight home opener and have won 10 of its last 14 home openers.
• Linebackers TJ Quinn and Stanquan Clark return as the two top tacklers from 2024. Quinn led the Cardinals with 82 stops and Clark was second with 76. Quinn recorded a career best 13 tackles in a loss at Stanford and Clark spearheaded the Cards’ first-ever victory at Clemson with his career high of 13 stops.
• Louisville is looking for its fourth-straight win dating back to last season. Since falling on the road to Stanford, the Cardinals closed 2024 with wins over Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Washington.
• Clev Lubin is one of the top transfers along the defensive line. He recorded 9.5 sacks last season at Coastal Carolina, and looks to replace Ashton Gillotte, who was a third-round selection of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Eastern Kentucky

• The EKU pass defense is led by Preseason All-American Jaheim Ward (DB). In 2024 , Ward recorded the third-most tackles on the team with 66, including five tackles for loss with two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, two interceptions, and nine pass breakups.
• Transfer QB, Myles Burkett was named the starter for EKU ahead of the 2025 season. Burkett joins the Colonels after transferring from Albany (NY) where he threw 1,845 yards and 10 touchdowns going 145-of-265 through the air, averaging 205 passing yards per game in nine appearances
• Running back Brayden Latham enters 2025 as the Colonels top running back. A unanimous Preseason All-UAC selection this season, in 2024, the junior rushed for 622 yards on 141 attempts scoring three touchdowns.
• 38 members of the Colonels' roster come from the the Commonwealth of Kentucky
• EKU is seeking its first win over the Cardinals since 1985
• The Colonels enter the season with a UAC leading six Preseason All-UAC selections - (RB) Brayden Latham, (WR) Marcus Calwise, (LB) Braden Sullivan, (DB) Jaheim Ward, (RS) Jalen Montgomery, (P) Jacob Baker.
• The Colonels are looking to return to the FCS Playoffs in 2025 after making it in 2024 for the 24th time in program history, the second most of any FCS insitution all-time
• Saturday's matchup with Louisville marks the third straight season EKU has opened the season at a "Power Four" school

Depth Charts

The depth chart for Eastern Kentucky can be found here. Louisville has yet to release their depth chart.

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Colonels, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Eastern Kentucky

Uniform Report

Louisville will be wearing white helmets and pants with red jerseys, while Eastern Kentucky will be wearing white jersey and pants with maroon helmets.