Indiana Football vs Louisville: Key players, notes and opening spread

Indiana football travels to Indianapolis for their week three matchup with Louisville at Lucas Oil Stadium. It will be a familiar foe for Tom Allen, with former Purdue coach Jeff Brohm taking over as the Cardinals’ head coach this offseason.

Louisville comes into this one with a record of 2-0 with wins against Georgia Tech and Murray State.

Kickoff is set for 12:00 pm ET on Saturday and the game will be on Big Ten Network.

Key players

QB Jack Plummer: Plummer is a fifth year senior who started his college career with Jeff Brohm at Purdue (2019-21) before transferring to Cal in 2022. At Cal, he finished 2022 with 3119 passing yards, 22 total touchdowns and nine interceptions. Plummer left Cal to reunite with his first coach at Louisville. He is a 6-foot-5 and 214-pound pocket passer with good touch and pocket presence. In his first two games with the Cardinals, Plummer has 494 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. He has some ability to move outside of the pocket and use his legs, but he’s more comfortable as a pocket-passer. Plummer played in just one game against the Indiana football program in his Purdue career, throwing two passes.

RB Isaac Guerendo: Guerendo is a 5th year senior from Clayton, Indiana. He started his career as a WR at Wisconsin but moved to RB. In his four years at Wisconsin, he never had more than 90 touches in a season with Wisconsin, but the 6-foot-1 and 225-pound running back has 22 touches for 150 total yards and a touchdown in his first two games with Louisville. He has good hands for the position and is a speedster coming out of the backfield, with a lot of versatility.

RB Jawhar Jordan: Jordan is in his third year with the Cardinals after playing for Syracuse his first two years of college. Jordan was the team’s leading rusher in 2o22 with 815 yards and four touchdowns. The 5-foot-10 185-pounder has 231 rushing yards and is averaging 16.5 yards per carry thus far in 2023. He is also a threat as a returner, scoring two kick return touchdowns in his time with Louisville.

WR Jamari Thrash: The 6-foot and 180-pound wideout played four years at Georgia State before transferring to Louisville. Thrash was one of the most productive Group of 5 receivers, finishing 2022 with 61 catches for 1122 yards and seven touchdowns. He is an explosive playmaker, averaging 16.9 yards per catch in his college career. This season, Thrash has 10 catches for 170 yards, three receiving touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.

WR Kevin Coleman Jr.: Coleman played his first season with Deion Sanders at Jackson State before transferring to Louisville before this year. The 5-foot-11 170 pound receiver was the 11th ranked receiver coming out of high school according to 247sports. In two games with the Cardinals, Coleman Jr. has five catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. He is a very explosive receiver with a lot of speed and is very good after the catch.

DE Ashton Gillotte: At 6-foot-3 and 270 pounds, Gillotte is a dangerous pass rusher who had seven sacks for the Cardinals in 2022 as a sophomore. He has a variety of pass rush moves in his arsenal. Gillotte is in his third year with the Cardinals after committing as a 3-star recruit from Boca Raton, FL. In his first two games of 2023, he has five tackles and one sack for the Cardinals.

LB TJ Quinn: Quinn is in his third year with the Cardinals and is currently the team’s leading tackler through two games with 12 total tackles in the team’s first two games. The 6-foot-1 230 pound linebacker had 20 total tackles in his first two seasons with the Cardinals but has a much larger role in his third year. Quinn was recruited as a three-star safety from Valdosta, GA but has since gained 30 pounds and moved to linebacker.

CB Jarvis Brownlee: Brownlee began his career at Florida State before transferring to Louisville in 2022. In 2022, Brownlee had two interceptions and 66 total tackles for the Cardinals. He also added 14 passes defended and was the top returning corner on the Louisville roster. The 6-foot and 190 pound corner had two tackles and one pass defended in his first two games of 2023.

CB Quincy Riley: Riley started his career at Middle Tennessee, staying there for 3 years before transferring to Louisville in 2022. The 6-foot, 185-pound corner had three interceptions, including one pick-six in his first season with the Cardinals in 2o22. He gave up 15 total catches in coverage in 2022 and had five passes defended on the season. He did not play full-time snaps in 2o22 but made a lot of plays when thrown at and his role has grown significantly in 2023.

Other Notable Players: 

Bryan Hudson, C Sr.

Josh Minkins, S Sr.

Renato Brown, OT Jr.

Storm Duck, CB Sr.

Stephen Herron, EDGE Sr.

Key Notes

• Indiana football is 2-0 against Louisville all time
• The last matchup between the schools took place on 9/13/1986 where Indiana won 21-0 at home
• Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm was 4-1 against Indiana during his time with Purdue
• Louisville ranks third in the country in rushing offense (285.5 yards / gm) and fourth in total offense (583 yards / gm)

Spread

• Indiana football opens as 10-pt underdogs and an O/U set at 53.5

SEE ALSO: ‘We will have a starter for week three’: Indiana football head coach Tom Allen moving into decision mode for starting QB

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