By Dalton Ray–

Louisville scored some style points with their huge home win over NC State. U of L returned to their early season form by jumping up on a team and not allowing them to comeback. The 41-point victory is Louisville’s fifth 30-plus point victory this season.

The Cardinals moved to No. 5 in the latest polls. While a few things fell in Louisville’s way this weekend, it wasn’t all good news for U of L.

On a bye: No. 4 Washington, No. 8 Baylor

Good news

U of L owes Penn State a huge thank you. The Nitty Lions knocked off then-second-ranked Ohio State 24-21. PSU outscored the Buckeyes 17-0 in the fourth quarter and the game-winning score came out a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. Despite Trace McSorley only completing eight passes, Penn State grinded out a victory on the ground. OSU tumbled to No. 6 after the loss.

Louisville couldn’t gain much from the Alabama-Texas A&M game, but U of L favors a Alabama victory. With Bama knocking off A&M, the Tide gets the Aggies off Louisville’s back and puts them at No. 10. If A&M beats Alabama, the Aggies then jump in the top three and Alabama most likely falls to No. 5 or No. 6, holding U of L in their same spot.

Don’t look now, but Kentucky is putting together a decent season. The Wildcats definitely aren’t blowing anyone away, but they’re stringing wins together and now sit at 4-3. With Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, Austin Peavy and Louisville remaining on the schedule, the Cats only need two wins to reach their first bowl since 2010. Cardinal fans will be resistant, but they should be cheering for UK to win as many games as possible before their match-up.

Bad news

Once again, Houston disappoints Louisville fans. The loss to SMU, 5-14 over the past two seasons, is a terrible loss and nearly launched Houston out of the top 25. The Cougars fell from No. 11 to No. 24.

The loss against the Mustangs wasn’t a close game, which makes it even worse. SMU won 38-16 and controlled most of the game. SMU shut down Greg Ward and scored 31 points in the second and fourth quarters. The Louisville-Houston game would be lucky to be a top 25 match-up the way Houston is playing.

Somehow, Ohio State only dropped to No. 6 after losing to Penn State. OSU has higher quality opponents on their schedule and are in position to leap U of L.

Undefeated teams

All four teams ahead of Louisville (Alabama, Michigan, Clemson and Washington) are undefeated. While Louisville has their eyes on these four teams, U of L needs to keep in mind of the undefeated teams behind them.

No. 7 Nebraska is Louisville’s biggest undefeated-threat to jump the Cardinals. In a similar spot as Ohio State, Nebraska has big games on their schedule that can propel the Cornhuskers above U of L.

No. 8 Baylor and No. 10 West Virginia are slowly creeping into the CPF picture. Teams with identical styles, both the Bears and Mountaineers hold the ability to score style points with the committee through flashy play.

The group of five currently holds two unbeaten teams in the top 25: No. 13 Boise State and No. 20 Western Michigan.

Photo by Dalton Ray / The Louisville Cardinal