Louisville wide receiver Jadon Thompson will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, and the 15th-ranked Cardinals also could be without star cornerback Quincy Riley for Saturday’s game at No. 16 Notre Dame.
Thompson, a senior, had two touchdown catches in Louisville’s season-opening win against Austin Peay but injured a knee late in Saturday’s 31-19 win against Georgia Tech. He had 88 receiving yards on six catches.
Riley, who started all 13 games last season and had two interceptions, is dealing with an ankle injury from the Georgia Tech game, where he had a forced fumble and a tackle for loss.
“He’s 50-50 at best,” Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm told ESPN. “He’s got a little bit of a high ankle [injury], so we’ll see where it goes. I’m hopeful but I’m not optimistic.”
Louisville could be down two receivers with Thompson out and Caullin Lacy working his way back from a broken collarbone suffered in a preseason scrimmage. Lacy led the Sun Belt in receiving yards (1,316) and finished third nationally in receiving average (109.7) last season at South Alabama. He began practicing again with the team last week but did not play against Georgia Tech.
“It’ll be close,” Brohm said of Lacy. “I would anticipate the SMU game [Oct. 5], this game will be all dependent on whether he just wants to go. I’m not going to say he’s going to be 100 percent. It’s just his call. It’s 50-50 at best.”
Alabama transfer Ja’Corey Brooks and junior Chris Bell have stepped up for Louisville, combining for 464 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the team’s first three games.
“Those two guys have to play well for us every week or we’re not going to be great in the passing game,” Brohm said. “They have to make a difference.”
