Louisville Football: 5 games that would help the Cards' playoff hopes in week 9

We take a look at the five games that would help Louisville Football’s playoff hopes during week nine of the college football season.

The Louisville Football team is ready to take on the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon as they look for their seventh win on the 2016 season. The Cards are playing great football and their college football playoff hopes have been improving every week since the loss to Clemson.

SEE ALSO: 5 reasons the Cardinals will beat Virginia on Saturday

For a couple of weeks, it seemed as though the Cardinals would be lucky to make the big dance, but now it seems as though more and more scenarios are putting the Cards among the top four teams in January.

Ohio State losing to Penn State last weekend was huge for Louisville. The Cardinals jumped from seventh to fifth in America after the Nittany Lions’ stunning win at home over the Buckeyes. I think when Penn State returned the blocked-kick for a touchdown, the entire city of Louisville started shaking from cheering.

The goods news for Louisville is that there are five games this week that can significantly help their playoff hopes. I will warn you though, there are many teams on this list that you may not want to root for, but you need to toughen up and realize that it will help the Cards.

Here are the top five games that could impact the Cardinals’ playoff hopes in week nine.

Oct 22, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines running back Karan Higdon (22) celebrates his touchdown in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan Stadium. Michigan won 41-8. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

5. Michigan Wolverines (7-0) at Michigan State Spartans (2-5)

It has been amazing to see how far the Spartans have fallen in the 2016 football season. They are currently 2-5 and sinking fast. They will now have the pleasure of trying to beat the second ranked team in the country in the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. Good luck Michigan State.

However, we all know how weird rivalry games can be in college football. I’m still trying to convince myself that’s why Kentucky has played Louisville so tough the past few years. Either way, a Spartan win would be huge for the Cardinals.

Let’s say that Michigan somehow get’s beat. I’m not saying it will happen, but if it did happen, then Louisville would move back into a top four team in America. Not only would it be a huge win for Louisville, but it would mean that Ohio State and Michigan both have a loss to unranked teams.

Penn State is currently ranked, but they weren’t when they beat the Buckeyes.

It would still be extremely hard for the committee to overlook a Louisville team with one road loss to Clemson.

Oct 22, 2016; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Daikiel Shorts (6) celebrates with safety Jordan Miller (17) after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

4. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-0) at Oklahoma State (5-2)

I think we can all agree that the Big-12 is on a lower level this season than most of the other power five conferences. However, in their defense, they do have two teams in the top ten of the country going into week 9. Baylor and WVU are both undefeated and rolling through their respective schedules.

The last thing that the committee needs to worry about is if a Big-12 team winds up undefeated. Then they would have a very heard decision to make: Would you choose a one-loss Cardinal team or a Big-12 unbeaten?

Hopefully it never comes to that and the undefeated run could end for the Mountaineers this weekend. It will be a tough road test, where WVU is just a slight favorite going into Boone Pickens Stadium.

The Cowboys have a high-powered offense, maybe this will be one of the many upsets of the weekend.

Oct 15, 2016; Waco, TX, USA; Baylor Bears cornerback Ryan Reid (9) reacts after his second interception of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

3.  Baylor Bears (6-0) at Texas Longhorns (3-4)

Like we have discussed before, the Cardinals need the Big-12 and Pac-12 conferences to finish the season without an undefeated conference champion. That would make for a very complicated scenario, of which I would not be confident that the Louisville football team would benefit from. Therefore, they need the Bears to lose, at least once, this season.

To be honest, the Bears haven’t had a tough game yet this season. Not everyone’s schedule has been as front-loaded at Louisville’s. To be even more clear, their toughest game has been Oklahoma State.

This may be a weekend of rooting for team’s that you don’t like Louisville fans. However, if it means that the Cards’ will benefit then we all need to be pulling for Charlie Strong.

The Bears are only three point, road favorites, which should give you a little bit of hope that the Longhorns may pull off the stunning upset.

Oct 7, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Mike Williams (7) catches a pass as Boston College Eagles defensive back Isaac Yiadom (20) defends on the play during the first quarter at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

2. Clemson Tigers (7-0) at Florida State Seminoles (5-2)

Clemson might be the luckiest college football team on the face of planet Earth this season. Whether it has been kickers missing game-winning field goals, or you know, referees giving them the benefit of the doubt in Death Valley. The Tigers have a way of getting their way, every time they play at home.

However, they will not be in the comfort of tens of thousands of Tigers fans this weekend.

it has been widely discussed that Louisville fans need to be rooting for the Tigers to win out this season. It would mean that the Cardinals’ only loss would be to an undefeated conference champion, on the road, by less than a touchdown. I think Louisville would deserve a spot over many conference champions this year, but I’m not on the committee. Oh well.

This game will be very interesting. The Tigers have been on the verge of losing many times this season, but no one has been able to knock them off. Hopefully the Seminoles aren’t the first team to figure it out on Saturday.

Unfortunately, you have to root for Clemson if you’re a Louisville fan.

Sep 23, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Tim Patrick (12) celebrates with tight end Evan Moeai (18), offensive lineman Garett Bolles (72) and wide receiver Raelon Singleton (11) after catching an 18-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left for the winnning score against the USC Trojans during a NCAA football at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah defeated USC 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

 1. Washington Huskies (7-0) at Utah Utes (7-1)

There is no game bigger this weekend for the Louisville football team’s playoff hopes other than this game between the Washington Huskies and the Utah Utes. Both PAC-12 schools will be looking to hop over the other on their way to a conference championship in 2016. The Huskies have been on fire this year, but the Utes are not too far behind.

The bad news for Louisville is that Washington could win out and solidify themselves the fourth playoff spot. However, the good news is that they haven’t had a true test this season. They killed Stanford earlier in the year, but let’s face it, the Cardinals are terrible.

This road game against Utah will show us everything we need to know about the Huskies, in terms of playoff scenarios. Washington is currently an 11 point, road favorite, but that doesn’t mean that they will come out and play well.

The Huskies will have a ton of pressure on them during the game, let’s see how well they respond to adversity on the road.

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