Petrino Returns for Louisville Monday in Revenge Spot for Miami

The Cardinals Opened as 2.5-point Favorites in this ACC Matchup.

The first week of the 2014 college football season comes to a close on Labor Day when the Miami Hurricanes visit the Louisville Cardinals in a rematch of last year's Russell Athletic Bowl that will be televised nationally on ESPN at 5 p.m. (PT). The Cardinals beat Miami 36-9 in that game and begin their first year in the ACC, but they will do so without starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (now in the NFL), head coach Charlie Strong (left for Texas job) and leading wide receiver DeVante Parker (due to a foot injury).

Still, Louisville opened as a 2.5-point favorite and has been bet up to -3.5 with the total staying steady at 53.5 (click here to check latest college football odds). Don Best COO and oddsmaker Kenny White has Miami as one of his most underrated teams in the country this season and rated just a half-point behind the Cardinals in the Don Best Advantage College Football Power Ratings.

Click here to join Don Best Advantage today and view all College Football Power Ratings.

"These are two pretty equal teams with Miami Florida having an edge on defense," White said. "With defensive end Anthony Chickillo, middle linebacker Denzel Perryman and free safety Deon Bush, the Hurricanes have three of the four best defensive players in this game. Al Golden is now in his fourth year with Miami, which increases the chance his team will be on the same page from the start of the season."

Replacing Strong on the sidelines for Louisville is former head coach Bobby Petrino, who was 41-9 at the school from 2003-06 before leaving for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. Petrino's stay in Atlanta did not last long, as he failed to make it through one season and ended up returning to the college game at Arkansas. After an embarrassing affair was exposed while he was coaching the Razorbacks, he was fired and then later coached at Western Kentucky last year before going back to Louisville.

While Petrino's return will likely be the focus of attention for the Cardinals playing in front of their home crowd and one of the main storylines for the national television audience, it could also be a distraction. White also said he thinks the lack of defensive star power for Louisville could be the difference in this game in addition to the last meeting's result, which left a very bad taste in Miami's mouth.

"The Hurricanes have revenge," White said. "It is not very often you get to open up with the team that beat you in a bowl game."