# 2013 Louisville Cardinals football team

The 2013 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinals were led by fourth-year head coach Charlie Strong. The Cardinals played their home games at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. They were in their last year as a member of the American Athletic Conference (formerly known as the Big East) until they moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference starting on July 1, 2014. They finished the season 12–1, 7–1 in American Athletic play to finish in second place. They were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they defeated Miami (FL).

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 3:30 p.m. | Ohio* | No. 9 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ESPN | W 49–7 | 55,332 |
| September 7 | 12:00 p.m. | Eastern Kentucky* | No. 8 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ESPN3 | W 44–7 | 53,647 |
| September 14 | 12:00 p.m. | at Kentucky* | No. 7 | Commonwealth StadiumLexington, KY (Governor's Cup) | ESPN | W 27–13 | 65,445 |
| September 21 | 12:00 p.m. | FIU* | No. 7 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | WHAS | W 72–0 | 51,586 |
| October 5 | 12:00 p.m. | at Temple | No. 7 | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | AAN | W 30–7 | 21,709 |
| October 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Rutgers | No. 8 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ESPN | W 24–10 | 55,168 |
| October 18 | 8:00 p.m. | UCF | No. 8 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ESPN | L 35–38 | 55,215 |
| October 26 | 12:00 p.m. | at South Florida | No. 18 | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN2 | W 34–3 | 35,782 |
| November 8 | 8:30 p.m. | at UConn | No. 20 | Rentschler FieldEast Hartford, CT | ESPN2 | W 31–10 | 27,104 |
| November 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Houston | No. 19 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY | ESPNU | W 20–13 | 53,027 |
| November 23 | 12:00 p.m. | Memphis | No. 21 | Papa John's Cardinal StadiumLouisville, KY (rivalry) | AAN | W 24–17 | 46,421 |
| December 5 | 7:30 p.m. | at Cincinnati | No. 19 | Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH (The Keg of Nails) | ESPN | W 31–24 $^{OT}$ | 35,097 |
| December 28 | 6:45 p.m. | vs. Miami (FL)* | No. 18 | Florida Citrus Bowl StadiumOrlando, FL (rivalry) (Russell Athletic Bowl) | ESPN | W 36–9 | 51,098 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 15 |
| Coaches | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 6 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 20 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | Not released |