Louisville football vs. Florida State: 3 things to know, betting line

Louisville avoided an early season slide by escaping Orlando with a 20-14 win over Central Florida in Week 2. The Cardinals (1-1) return home for their season opener against Florida State (2-0). The Seminoles come into Cardinal Stadium on the heels of an off week after beating LSU 24-23 on a missed extra point.

Jalen Mitchell is injured and his status is questionable for Friday's game against UCF. Louisville still has Tiyon Evans as the team's main back, but the depth behind him is thinner. Jawhar Jordan and Trevion Cooley are expected to get more carries this week. The team is trying to give Coley a few more touches. He didn't play against the Golden Knights and didn’t log any carries against Syracuse.

All of Florida State's starters from the back row return. The defensive front is the biggest the Cardinals have faced so far this season. Jared Verse has the best pass-rush grade of 91.1 among Power 5 players. Louisville needs to improve on Malik Cunningham's passing performance against UCF. Tyler Hudson and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce have been the team's leading receivers. The team needs more playmakers to step up. Last week, tight end Marshon Ford played more than he did in the previous game.

Louisville's defense against mobile quarterbacks so far this year was 50/50. The Cardinals struggled against Syracuse's Garrett Shrader but managed to keep UCF's John Rhys Plumlee contained. Florida State's Jordan Travis threw for 1,539 yards and ran for 530 more with the Seminoles last season. Travis is averaging 233.5 passing yards per game, fifth-most in the ACC, completing 64.6% of his passes and 42 rushing yards on 12 carries so so this season in wins over Duquesne and LSU.

Florida State is 2 ½-point favorite over Louisville on the road.

Louisville football is playing its home opener against Florida State. The Cardinals have won their last three games against the Seminoles.