Louisville reveals rebuilt 2020 football schedule, which includes one in-state rival
The University of Louisville revealed a restructured 2020 football schedule on Thursday that includes 10 conference games and one non-league contest against an in-state opponent.
The Cardinals will play six times at Cardinal Stadium this season and five times on the road.
Louisville was originally scheduled to open the season on Sept. 2 against North Carolina State and face a slate that included eight Atlantic Coast Conference games and four non-conference opponents.
Because of concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic, the ACC scrapped its original schedule and created one in which each school would play 10 conference games and one out-of-league foe.
Louisville will play its lone non-conference game in its season opener, Sept. 12 against Western Kentucky at Cardinal Stadium.
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers will meet for the third straight season. Louisville won 38-21 last year in Nashville. Louisville leads the all-time series 21-12.
A run of 10 straight ACC games begins when Miami (Fla.) visits Cardinal Stadium on Sept. 19. It will be the Hurricanes’ first visit to Louisville since 2014 when U of L opened its first season in the league with a 31-13 win.
Louisville then faces a three-game road stretch, with games at Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.
The visit to South Bend will be Louisville’s first since a 31-28 victory there in 2014. Last year, the Fighting Irish defeated the Cardinals 35-17 in Louisville.
The game against Notre Dame, originally a non-conference contest, will be counted as an ACC game this season. The Fighting Irish, an independent in football that plays in the ACC in other sports, agreed to join the league for football in 2020 to ease scheduling during the pandemic.
Florida State visits on Oct. 24, followed by Virginia Tech making its first appearance in Louisville since 1992 on Halloween.
U of L, which finished 8-5 last season and defeated Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl, closes the 2020 season with games at Virginia, home vs. Syracuse, at Boston College and home vs. Wake Forest to finish the campaign on Dec. 5.
It will be the first home game in December since the Cardinals defeated Connecticut 48-17 during the 2006 season.
The Cardinals will not play their annual rivalry game against Kentucky this season for the first time since 1993. As part of its COVID-19 protocols, the Southeastern Conference decided to play a league-only schedule.
U of L was also forced to drop a scheduled non-conference game against Murray State.
2020 Louisville football schedule
(Home games in all capital letters; Kickoff times and TV to be announced later)
Sept. 12: WESTERN KENTUCKY
Sept. 19: MIAMI (FLA.)
Sept. 26: At Pittsburgh
Oct. 9: At Georgia Tech
Oct. 17: At Notre Dame
Oct. 24: FLORIDA STATE
Oct. 31: VIRGINIA TECH
Nov. 7: At Virginia
Nov. 21: SYRACUSE
Nov. 27: At Boston College
Dec. 5: WAKE FOREST
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 10:10 AM.