Two of the top teams in the nation will square off against one another in Week 3 of the 2016 college football season when the Florida State Seminoles travel to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to face the Louisville Cardinals. Game time for this ACC clash is 12 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
Florida State has moved all the way to No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25 on the strength of a big 45-34 opening day victory against Mississippi as a 4.5-point favorite. The Seminoles followed this up with a 52-8 pasting of Charleston Southern last week in a game that had no posted betting line. They are now 6-1 ATS in their last seven games and the total has gone OVER in three of their last four games after going OVER 57.5 against Ole Miss.
Freshman quarterback Deondre Francois has already made a pretty big splash in his early career at Florida State with 681 passing yards and five touchdown throws in his first two games. He has completed 69 percent of his 84 passing attempts for a solid rating of 154.4. The duo of Travis Rudolph and Jesus Wilson have combined for 26 receptions for 357 yards and running back Dalvin Cook has added 174 rushing yards and two scores on 34 carries.
The Cardinals are also off to a solid start at 2-0 both SU and ATS with dominating victories against Charlotte at home and Syracuse on the road in their ACC opener by a combined score of 132-42. The total went OVER in both of those games. They are now 5-2 ATS in their last seven games with the total going OVER in six of those contests.
The hot hand for Louisville through the first two weeks of the season has been sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson. He has thrown for 697 yards and seven touchdowns against one interception, while also leading the team in rushing with 318 yards and six scores on 32 carries. This adds up to an average of 9.9 yards every time he takes off with the ball. These early season stats have Louisville ranked sixth in passing yards and third in rushing as the top scoring team in the nation.
- The Seminoles are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a SU winning record and they are also 4-1 ATS in their last five conference games. The total has stayed UNDER in their last five road games.
- The Cardinals are just 2-5 ATS in their last seven ACC games, but they have covered ATS in five of their last seven home games. The total has gone OVER in four of their last five games following a SU win.
- Head-to-head in this conference tilt, Florida State has won the last two meetings both SU and ATS with the total going OVER in both contests.