Louisville football may have had the week off, but the excitement and storylines across the ACC and college football as a whole were definitely not. Louisville fans got a chance to take a breath and take in a few other teams that grace the schedule of the Cardinals down the line. As the Cards rested and recouped from the first two weeks, their ACC adversaries started to piece together the conference title puzzle, with most competing against bitter rivals or beginning their journey through conference play.
Louisville has yet to start conference play and won’t for another couple of weeks. Once this does start, they will have a tough remaining schedule against the likes of Miami, Clemson, and SMU. There will be many season-defining matchups and key spots for the Cardinals to hopefully succeed in. It makes watching the games today, and seeing their opponents prove their worth, even more enticing as a Cards fan, knowing we will be meeting down the road. We all can’t wait for the Cards to get started.
It’s always the weeks that don’t seem to have much on the docket that produce the most exciting outcomes and storylines. Week 3 this week was no different. It's one of the reasons that college football is so beloved. As Cards fans, we are always looking at the happenings of the opponents through the lens of “How will this affect Louisville?” Luckily, there are three observations taken from today’s games that will do just that.
3 huge observations from Louisville football fans
3. Louisville can’t overlook Pittsburgh in Week 5
Louisville comes off the bye week with another non-conference foe in Bowling Green; however, they will start their conference play against the Pittsburgh Panthers the following week. The Cards will go on the road to Pittsburgh and face a well-rested Panthers team coming off their bye week. It will be a tough environment to start ACC play, and one that has not been friendly to the Cards over the years.
Pitt enters the bye week with a 2-1 record, which includes two blowout wins over lower competition (Eastern Michigan and Duquesne) as well as a hard-fought 31-24 loss in overtime to their rival, the West Virginia Mountaineers, in the “Backyard Brawl”. They have shown that they can be a formidable opponent in the early stages, even with the trip up this week in Morgantown. With the loss being out of conference, they will also be looking to get off to a hot start in ACC play.
Jeff Brohm and company have not always had the best success against the Pitt Panthers. In 2023, during Brohm’s first year at the helm, the undefeated Cards went to Pittsburgh a week after their signature win against the ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and lost 38-21. The Cards will look to avoid the on-the-road letdown to start ACC play and to get off to a fast start on their journey to the ACC title game.
Related: Louisville football's season-defining game is much earlier than fans anticipated