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
2. Miami solidifies themselves as the ACC frontrunner
Miami was one of the teams that had the most question marks entering the 2025 season. They lost a lot of production, had a new quarterback in Carson Beck, and had uncertainties about their ability to play up to prominent opponents. In 3 weeks, Miami has been able to answer most of those questions and put itself on the path to being the lead contender for the ACC title game.
The team as a whole has looked solid in their three outings as the Hurricanes start the year 3-0, 2 of the wins being against top 25 opponents. Carson Beck has looked the part and is living up to the hype bestowed upon him at Georgia one year later than expected. He is playing with confidence and has the proper leadership to be the key focal point of the Miami offense. As also noted, the Hurricanes have shown up in key spots, winning their Week 1 contest against the visiting #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish as well as the most recent 49-12 thrashing of the hot #18 South Florida Bulls in Week 3.
Miami has stood out as the conference leader and the team to beat for the rest of the ACC contenders. Louisville visits Miami in October for a vital conference showdown that is setting up to have significant conference title game implications. We all knew this game would be challenging to overcome, but with how the Hurricanes look currently, we may still have underestimated the opponent as Cards fans.
Related: ESPN unveils 'season-defining game' that will make or break Louisville football's season
1. Clemson continues to fall short of expectations
In perhaps one of the best matchups of the day, the Clemson Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney, for the third week in a row, have looked incredibly underwhelming when compared to their preseason expectations. This time, it cost them as they fell to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 24-21 on a last-second field goal. The Tigers had moments of confidence, but looked to play second fiddle to Georgia Tech most of the game.
The Tigers received great preseason accolades and praise for their returning production as well as their finish last year, ending with an ACC title and an appearance in the inaugural college football playoff. However, the season has been anything but championship worthy to this point, as the Tigers take their second loss and their first in conference. Georgia Tech was also a name tossed around as a potential ACC title contender in the preseason; however, they were always supposed to be behind the Tigers on the totem pole for the ACC standings.
This game significantly alters the ACC race in just Week 3 of the season. It puts Georgia Tech on a collision course for the ACC title and supplies Clemson with an unanticipated roadblock on its journey. Best believe Clemson will still be in the running to make the ACC title game; however, their path becomes much more difficult with little room for error as the season progresses. It will make the November meeting between the Tigers and the Cards all the more exciting, with ACC title aspirations most likely on the line.