Louisville may need to host open tryouts to field a football team against Kentucky. Okay, that is a bit over the top, but it isn\u2019t too far from the truth. As the losses stack up for the Cards, so do injuries to their star players. <\/p>\n
On Monday morning, head coach Jeff Brohm revealed that Chris Bell<\/a> will miss the regular season finale against Kentucky. Many fans and foes alike have pondered whether this is an opt-out or an injury. Bell did leave the SMU hobbled after a season-low 46 yards on five receptions. <\/p>\n Bell is arguably Louisville\u2019s best player. He leads the Cards with 72 receptions for 917 yards (second-most in the ACC) and six touchdowns. NFL Draft analysts believe he could be a first-round pick in next spring\u2019s NFL Draft. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll try to get some other guys ready that are niched up that we won\u2019t know until later in the week,\u201d said Brohm<\/a>. <\/p>\n Bell is just the latest in a string of high-profile injuries for the Cards that have accumulated during this three-game losing streak. Isaac Brown<\/a> was injured at the end of a 130-yard game against Virginia Tech at the beginning of the month. Despite only receiving double-digit carries in six games this season, his five rushes of 40+ yards are the fifth-most in college football. <\/p>\n Brown\u2019s nagging hamstring injury opened the door for another Brown. Keyjuan Brown<\/a> had four straight games with 90+ rushing yards, but did not play at SMU. The other tailback, Duke Watson<\/a>, suffered an injury in Dallas, forcing a couple of wide receivers, Caullin Lacy<\/a> and Shaun Boykins<\/a>, to take carries. <\/p>\n To add to the uncertainty, we don\u2019t know who will play quarterback for Louisville. Deuce Adams<\/a> started for the maligned Miller Moss<\/a>, who reportedly<\/a> suffered a \u201cfreak weight room accident\u201d ahead of the SMU game. Mark Stoops expects Moss to start on Saturday. <\/p>\n Kattus Among Those \u201cOut\u201d for Kentucky<\/p>\n Kentucky was down six defensive backs Saturday against Vanderbilt. They lost another defensive contributor in the loss to the Commodores. Former Kent State EDGE Kam Olds<\/a> will miss the Louisville game. The Cats have already lost Sam Greene<\/a> for the season. Lorenzo Cowan<\/a> and Steven Soles<\/a> will have to hold down the fort for the Cats. <\/p>\n Stoops also revealed that Josh Kattus<\/a> will be unavailable to play for the Wildcats on Saturday. The senior tight end has 17 receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown this year. In his absence, Willie Rodriguez<\/a> had 68 yards on six receptions, the most by a Kentucky tight end since CJ Conrad<\/a> in 2015. <\/p>\n Cornerback Terhyon Nichols<\/a> and linebacker Alex Afari<\/a> are among the defensive starters who could be \u201cclose\u201d to healthy enough for the Louisville game, but we did not receive too many details. Without a mandated availability report, expect Mark Stoops to keep the injury situation close to the vest ahead of the Governor\u2019s Cup. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Louisville may need to host open tryouts to field a football team against Kentucky. 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