2024 Sun Bowl quick preview: Washington Huskies vs. Louisville Cardinals

Washington's Demond Williams Jr. (2) throws the ball during practice at SAC II in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, as the team prepares for the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.
Washington's Demond Williams Jr. (2) throws the ball during practice at SAC II in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, as the team prepares for the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. | GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jedd Fisch and his Washington Huskies (6-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten) are getting set to take on the Louisville Cardinals (5-3 ACC) in the 2024 edition of the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. For the first time in 22 years, Washington will be competing in El Paso.

This is the culmination of what has been a pretty odd season for the Huskies. While Fisch’s first year hasn’t exactly gone according to plan, Washington is still in a bowl game and has a chance to secure a winning record in a season that has been essentially defined by drastic change. 

Meanwhile, the Louisville Cardinals are led by a familiar face in Jeff Brohm, who is from Louisville, Kentucky and has deep ties to the program. Oh, and he’s gone 18-8 so far in his first two seasons with the Cardinals.

Let’s go over a few things to know ahead of the 2024 Sun Bowl:

2024 Sun Bowl preview: Jedd Fisch, Washington Huskies looking to secure winning record as they face Louisville Cardinals 

Unfortunately for Fisch and the UW Huskies football team, they’re going to be facing a team that has been pretty efficient and effective. This won’t be any sort of easy win. Let’s take a look at some numbers real quick, shall we?

  • Washington’s offense is averaging 383.7 yards per game (252.3 yards passing, 131.3 yards rushing)
  • Louisville’s offense is averaging 455.8 yards per game (272.4 yards passing, 183.3 yards rushing)

Just a quick bit of rough math there and things don’t exactly favor the Huskies here. Speaking of numbers and being favored to win and such, ESPN’s FPI and the ESPN Analytics Matchup Predictor are giving the Huskies a pretty slim shot of winning. Right now, the Huskies are being given a 25.5 percent chance of coming out on top here.

This is a game that Washington can theoretically win. The number crunchin’ computers and raw stats from the regular season don’t determine everything here. Especially with the fact that Demond Williams Jr. is now the starting quarterback for UW moving forward. This team will look a bit different as Washington takes on Louisville in the 2024 Sun Bowl.

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