SPORTS

Portis: 3 reasons why U of L can win the ACC

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj
UofL's Dominique Brown (front) fights for yardage as he gets past Murray State's Shawn Samuels-Connell on Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. (By David Lee Hartlage, Special to the C-J) Sept. 6, 2014.

Former NFL and University of Miami star Clinton Portis is working now as an analyst for the ACC, and on Tuesday, he picked out three reasons why Louisville can win the conference title.

Yes, Louisville.

Portis kept it relatively simple in the video:

1. They have Bobby Petrino as the coach. Portis said Petrino's a players' coach and his transition back to U of L isn't as big of a change as other coaches might have been. "That's a fun system to play in," Portis explained.

2. Offense. Portis loves Louisville's early offensive production. The Cards ranked 12th in the nation in scoring so far and have a 53-percent conversion rate on third downs, which ranks them 21st. "Everyone needs it. They have it," Portis said, before picking out Louisville's running backs for praise. "Games are won on the ground."

3. Depth.

A big reason Louisville is 2-0 right now is its depth, Portis said. Just look at how the passing game's been without injured star DeVante Parker, who fractured a bone in his foot before the season opener. The passing game hasn't been awesome, and Parker could really change the entire complexion of it, but it's still been very good. Portis compared the Cards' depth to FSU: "They are stacked," he said. "Eight different guys have scored touchdowns."