The Week 3 of the new college football season starts on Friday, September 16, with this conference rivalry game, so make sure you don’t miss out on the best Seminoles vs. Cardinals betting pick and odds.

Florida State and Louisville will play their third game of the new NCAAF season when they meet at Cardinal Stadium. The Seminoles are -2 favorites on MyBookie Sportsbook, while the total is set at 54.5 points. These ACC rivals have faced once in 2021, and the Cardinals beat the Seminoles 31-23 in Florida.

Seminoles are favorites to maintain the perfect start

The Florida State Seminoles opened the new CFB campaign with a pair of wins over Duquesne and LSU, causing a little upset against the Tigers on the road. They will play their first conference game on Friday against Louisville and are slight favorites to open the season with a 3-0 record.

It was an extremely exciting game at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, where the Seminoles snatched a tight 24-23 victory. Although they controlled the majority of the game, the Seminoles nearly dropped a big lead in the final four minutes as the Tigers scored two touchdowns. Luckily for FSU, they blocked an extra point as time expired to get away with a W.

Quarterback Jordan Travis completed 20 of 33 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns as both TD passes went to Ontaria Wilson, who registered 102 yards on seven receptions. On the defensive side, DL Jared Verse got a pair of sacks.

Cardinals provided two shocks early on

The Louisville Cardinals first shocked their fans with a big 31-7 loss to Syracuse, despite being a 7-point favorite, but bounced back with a 20-14 win over UCF in a game where they were 5-point underdogs. Louisville will play its first game of the season at home and the fans will expect to see quarterback Malik Cunningham throw his first TD of the year.

In the first two games, Cunningham has 30 completions for 353 yards, two interceptions, and no touchdowns. Given he threw just two interceptions in 2021, Cunningham must improve quickly. Still, Cunningham rushed for 121 yards and a TD on 17 carries against UCF, while the team’s leading rusher, Tiyon Evans, has 164 yards and two touchdowns so far. Junior wide receiver Tyler Hudson has 11 receptions for 169 yards, but he is still looking for that first TD pass from Cunningham. On defense, DB Kenderick Duncan with 17 tackles and DL Ashton Gillotte with a couple of sacks are the leaders.

Trends:

Florida State:

  • 4-1 ATS in the last five games overall
  • 4-1 ATS in the last five road games
  • 5-1 ATS in the last six games following a straight-up win

Louisville:

  • 12-28-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record
  • 4-10 ATS in the last 14 home games vs. a team with a winning road record

Florida State Seminoles vs. Louisville Cardinals Pick  

The Seminoles are much better than the Cardinals in every segment. FSU is the 5th in rushing yards per game with 269.0 and 67th 246.0 passing yards, while Louisville is 97th in passing (199.0) and 53rd in rushing (181.5). Florida State is averaging 35.5 points per game opposite Louisville’s 13.5 points, and even though I do expect Malik Cunningham to record his first passing TD of the campaign, I am backing the visitors to win and cover. Jordan Travis is very good at leading his offense, and I am sure the Seminoles will outscore the hosts.

Pick: Take the Seminoles at -2.5 (-110)

The Total

Louisville’s inefficiency on offense and Florida State’s 15.0 points per game allowed are two big reasons I am not expecting a high-scoring affair on Friday. The Cardinals’ offense will definitely click at some point during the season but after scoring just 27 in the first two games, I doubt they will suddenly erupt here. Under is 6-0 in the Seminoles’ last six games overall, Under is 6-1 in Florida State’s previous seven road games, while Under is 4-1 in the Seminoles’ last five conference games. Also, Under is 5-2 in the Cardinals’ last seven conference games.

Pick: Go Under 54.5 points (-110)