Louisville try to Destroy the Temple of the Owls Saturday

It was a bittersweet start of the NCAA College Football season as far as the Louisville Cardinals are concerned.

Louisville's 59-28 thrashing of Kentucky Sunday night turned bittersweet when Michael Bush broke his right leg early in the third quarter. No doubt a big back of his caliber will be missed, but it's a testament to the depth of talent Bobby Petrino has been able to amass that Kolby Smith and George Stripling are waiting in the on-deck circle to combine to be just as productive.

How they progress will go a long way in the Big East title chase, and maybe the national title hunt. Both could start just about anywhere, so don't count on the offensive play calling, or the expectations by these Louisville Cardinals, to change with new personnel.

Somewhat overshadowed by Bush's departure was the return from knee surgery of QB Brian Brohm, who looked crisp completing 19-of-31 passes for 254 yards and a score.

Meanwhile, 9-3 overtime loss to Buffalo showed just how long a road first-year head coach Al Golden has ahead of him at Temple. He used 11 true freshman in the opener, which will sting in September, yet pay off by November.

However, the Cardinals will prove to be just too much for the Temple Owls come game time.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a wider gap in talent and production among I-A programs than the one that exists between the Cards and the Owls. Louisville is a scoring machine fueled by a bunch of future NFL players, while Temple is extremely young and managed just 183 yards and three points against bottom-feeding Buffalo. Two early touchdowns will put this out of reach.

Sports Interaction has the outright odds on the game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Temple Owls.

Louisville -39.5 (-110)

Temple +39.5 (-110)