Louisville football is just seven days away from their first game of the 2025 season. Week 0 kicks off the most wonderful time of the sports year. All the work, all the preparation, all the time and effort; it all leads to this moment, the kick off of a season filled with dreams, expectations, and opportunity. It's the one time of the football season when every award or goal can still be achieved, and anything can happen.
Week 1 has notoriously been a tone-setter for most teams on how the season will play out. It's what sets college football apart from most other sports since only 12 games are played in this relatively short season. It makes every game count that much more.
This reality has been especially true for the Louisville Cardinals. Most memorable seasons in Louisville’s history have started with a bang in Week 1. More often than not, one particular player has stood out as a game-changer in these games. As we quickly approach Week 1 of the 2025 season against Eastern Kentucky, it seems like the perfect time to reminisce on the Cardinals teams of the past. It's an excellent opportunity to see how one player's performance can catapult a team into a great start for memorable seasons.
Top 5 Week 1 performances for Louisville football since 2000
5. Deion Branch, WR - 2000
Stat Line: 9 Receptions, 123 Receiving Yards, 2 Touchdowns
The Louisville legend (and future Super Bowl MVP) posted an incredible day to start the season against the bitter in-state rival. Deion Branch’s masterful performance at the wide receiver position was undoubtedly welcomed by quarterback Dave Ragone, who also posted 256 passing yards and three touchdowns himself in the same game.
Louisville went on to win the Governor’s Cup 40-34 that day. Branch went on to have 71 receptions, 1,016 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns in the 2000 season, where Louisville ended with a 9-3 record and reached as high as No. 22 in the AP Poll.
This season laid the groundwork for the Cardinals' success in the 2000s. It propelled Louisville into the national spotlight and the top 25 rankings, a place where the Cardinals grew instead at home for most of the decade.
Related: 3 under-the-radar wide receivers who could explode for Louisville in 2025