
The University of Louisville football team has won at least nine games in each of the past three seasons and has been to five consecutive bowl games.
The Cardinals will try to keep both those streaks alive in 2015 against a tough, but not killer, schedule, which was released Thursday.
UofL’s 12-game regular-season slate features three games against teams ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25. The schedule is top heavy with all three of those aforementioned matchups coming in the Cards’ first six games.
Under head coach Bobby Petrino, Louisville finished 9-4 overall, including 5-3 in its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 24th in the final AP poll in 2014. The Cards are likely to return 10 starters from this past season, which ended with a lopsided loss to Georgia in the Belk Bowl. It will open its 2015 campaign Sept. 5 against Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Tigers finished this past season ranked No. 22.
After that the Cards play three consecutive home games at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. They start their 2015 home schedule against former Conference USA and American Athletic Conference foe Houston on Sept. 12. UofL follows that up five days later with its ACC opener against Clemson, which finished 15th in the final AP poll, on a Thursday night. Nine days later Louisville hosts Samford of the Football Championship Subdivision.
UofL hits the road for its subsequent two games, with a bye week in between, playing at North Carolina State on Oct. 3 - the first of seven consecutive ACC games - and at Florida State on Oct. 17. The Seminoles finished tied for fifth in the final AP poll.
Louisville returns home to host Boston College on Oct. 24 before playing at Wake Forest six days later in its lone Friday night game of the season in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Halloween Eve.
The Cards then come back to town to host Syracuse on Nov. 7 and Virginia on Nov. 14. The latter is their regular-season home finale.
UofL closes out conference play Nov. 21 at Pittsburgh before ending its regular season Nov. 28 at archrival Kentucky.
Five of Louisville’s final six foes had losing records in 2014 so if the Cards can decide on a quarterback and fill several holes on defense they could easily go 6-0 in their final six games.
The schedule release comes one day after UofL got some good news on the defensive side of the ball. Wednesday defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who recently completed his first season with the Cards, announced that he had turned down an offer to occupy the same position with the Oakland Raiders.
2015 UofL football schedule
Sept. 5 vs. Auburn at Atlanta
Sept. 12 HOUSTON
Sept. 17 (Thurs.) CLEMSON
Sept. 26 SAMFORD
Oct. 3 at N.C. State
Oct. 17 at Florida State
Oct. 24 BOSTON COLLEGE
Oct. 30 (Fri.) at Wake Forest
Nov. 7 SYRACUSE
Nov. 14 VIRGINIA
Nov. 21 at Pittsburgh
Nov. 28 at Kentucky
*Home games in all CAPS. Game times have yet to be announced.
Photo courtesy University of Louisville Football Facebook Page