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Posted at 10:00 AM EST

12:20 PM EST. With guys like Rick Pitino and Bobby Petrino at the helm of their two biggest money-making athletic programs, Louisville is getting what it deserves with this latest controversy. What’s so funny is that it wasn’t a sex extortion scandal or prostitutes for potential recruits that brought Pitino and eventually former athletic director Tom Jurich down, but a pay to play program involving a major shoe company. In his second turn as the Cardinals head football coach, Petrino has kept his nose relatively clean with just some embarrassing Twitter activity on his rap sheet until last season’s "WakeyLeaks" scandal. In case you forgot, Cardinals’ coaches ended up with the Demon Deacons’ gamelan before their game last November. Petrino said he had no idea how Louisville ended up with Wake Forest's plays but he also did not deny using that information to his advantage. The Cardinals won easily that day 44-12 but failed to cover as 34½-point chalk. In six games laying points this season, the Cardinals have covered just one time in a 47-35 win over North Carolina as a -11½-point fav. Expectations were high in Louisville before the season started with last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson returning under center but the Cardinals' shot at the playoffs went up in smoke with a double-digit loss at N.C. State three weeks ago. They then chased that with a 45-42 home loss to Boston College as a -20 point favorite in what Petrino called one of his worst losses as a coach. Last week at two-win Florida State, the Cardinals were +6-point dogs and won outright but despite the W, we have to wonder what Louisville’s mindset is now that this season is a wash. In light of Louisville's most recent troubles on and off the field, Petrino is being held in high regard as he navigates this program through tough times but never forget that this guy is a total dirt-bag. We doubt coach Dave Clawson and the Demon Deacons have.

We stated that Wake Forest was high on our radar last week and while we did not cash our ticket, we will not be deterred by their loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday. Wake is now 4-3 after a 4-0 start to the season but it had a half time lead at GT before being outscored 25-3 in the second half on the back of three long touchdown runs of 42, 49 and 70 yards respectively. Prior to last week, the Deacons made good showings in losses to FSU and Clemson. Wake Forest might sit at the bottom of the ACC Atlantic standings but that doesn’t mean it is an easy out. The Demon Deacons have been a double-digit dog just once this season and covered as a 21 point pooch on the road in Clemson. Wake Forrest was embarrassed in this spot last season with its leaked game plan dominating national headlines. The underhanded way the Cardinals went about that victory has mostly been swept under the rug but they remember it in Winston-Salem. For Clawson's Deacons, this is another signature game and while they took a step back last week, there are going to be bumps in the road for any program on the road to recovery. The fact WF has gone from a 30+ point pooch to taking back just a field goal in this series after one season shows how far it has come in a short time. The market has not caught on that Wake Forest is an ACC team on the rise. A formerly pedestrian offense has finally caught up with a reliable defense and the roster now has ACC-caliber depth. This bunch is ready to compete with anybody in the ACC. Wake outright is the call.

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