Louisville vs Murray State Odds, Prediction and Best Bets (Thursday, Sept. 7)

Week 2 of the 2023 College Football season begins with a matchup between Louisville and Murray State on Thursday, September 7th, at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, KY. Kickoff is 7:30 pm ET on the ACC Network.

The projected Louisville vs Murray State odds have the Cardinals favored by around 30 points in their home opener. Louisville fans are being encouraged to wear black for this Thursday night kickoff against the FCS Racers. 

Let’s analyze the Louisville vs Murray State odds and offer our prediction for this CFB mid-week game.

Louisville vs Murray State Odds

In the Louisville vs Murray State odds, the Cardinals are expected to be favored by around 30 points, giving them close to 99% implied win probability.

Make sure to check out available Kentucky Sports Betting apps with KY sports betting pre-reg live.  

Cardinals Survive Yellow Jackets

Louisville kicked off its 2023 college football season with a 39-34 win over Georgia Tech in Week 1, coming back from a 15-point deficit at halftime. It was the coaching debut for Jeff Brohm, who spent the previous six years as the head coach for Purdue.

While Louisville showed resilience and adaptability in the second half, the Cardinals ultimately failed to cover the spread as 7.5-point favorites. Transfer QB Jack Plummer led Louisville’s comeback with three touchdown passes. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 247 yards and one interception on the night.

Another standout performer for the Cardinals was transfer wide receiver Jamari Thrash, who had seven catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Defensively the Cardinals have plenty to work on after allowing 488 total yards of offense to the Yellow Jackets.

Murray State Starts Strong In FCS

While they are playing in a different league than their Thursday night opponent, the Murray State Racers started the 2023 CFB season with a convincing 41-10 victory over Presbyterian. The Racers return 17 starters from the team that finished 2-9 in the Ohio Valley conference.

The standout player for Murray State in Week 1 was wide receiver Taylor Shields, who caught two passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Damajay Williams threw for 104 yards and 1 touchdown, while backup Eric Phoenix threw for 121 yards and one score.

On the ground, the Racers’ stable of six running backs combined for 231 yards rushing on 44 attempts against the Blue Hose. Defensively, the Racers did a good job of holding Presbyterian to under 100 yards rushing, although the run defense wasn’t as strong.

Murray State’s last win over an FBS team was actually against Louisville back in 1984. In their lone game against a Power Five opponent last season (Texas Tech), the Racers lost by a 63-10 score.

Louisville vs Murray State Prediction

There hasn’t been a betting line posted for this game yet, but we expect the spread to be somewhere around Louisville -30. The Cardinals hold a 14-6 all-time edge against the Racers, including a commanding 55-10 win at Cardinals Stadium back in 2017.

Here are some other betting trends to note for this Thursday night CFB clash:

• Louisville are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games at home
• Louisville are 7-0 SU in their last 7 games played in week 2
• Murray State are 0-20 SU in their last 20 games on the road

The Cardinals had the second-best rushing offense in the ACC last season and racked up over 200 yards on the ground in Week 1. Murray State won’t have an answer for the Cardinals’ ground game after allowing an average of 219 rushing yards per game in 2022.

When the spread gets posted, we like Louisville to cover if they are laying 30 points or less. If the spread ticks up significantly higher, consider playing Murray State ATS if they are getting 35+ points.