Coming into the season, Louisville clearly had one of the toughest schedules in the ACC. That’s still true two weeks in, but while that fact had dimmed my optimism for Jeff Brohm’s third season at his alma mater, now the door seems to be wide open for the Cardinals to emerge as a dark horse College Football Playoff contender.
This week, Miami is in a tier of its own. Mario Cristobal tried his best to give away Miami’s lead over Notre Dame in Week 1, but his team is built too soundly in the trenches, and with a veteran quarterback, the Hurricanes are the clear ACC favorites. Miami checked in at No. 2 last week and didn’t do anything in Week 2 to change that, but Clemson did.
The Tigers, at home in Death Valley, went into halftime down 16-3 to Troy. Cade Klubnik has typically saved his poor performances for matchups against defenses with superior athletes, but this time, he played down to Sun Belt competition. Klubnik isn’t the type of player who can carry a mediocre offense, and without any running game to speak of, that’s what he has around him in 2025.
Clemson ultimately pulled out the win, 27-16, but allowed 301 yards to the Trojans, and needed three Troy interceptions to turn the tide. Clemson has an elite defensive line with TJ Parker, Peter Woods, and Will Heldt, but the rest of the roster hasn’t been impressive to this point in the year. Dabo Swinney-led teams always get better as the year goes on, so Clemson can’t be written off, but it also cannot be considered the favorite to win the conference and make the CFP.
Now, Clemson belongs in a second tier of ACC contenders, along with Florida State, which pounded East Texas A&M 77-3 on Saturday, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and SMU, which lost a shootout to Baylor. The Mustangs took advantage of a soft schedule to sneak into the CFP as an at-large team last season, but that doesn’t appear to be in their range of outcomes after watching the way that Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson carved their defense late.
In Week 2, Louisville looked strong offensively again, with sophomore running back Isaac Brown scampering for 104 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries. He’s easily one of the most dynamic playmakers in the conference and will give the Cardinals a chance in any matchup.
I have a hard time believing Louisville can upset Miami in Week 8 at Hard Rock Stadium, but I could see the Cardinals getting the best of Clemson, which they beat in Death Valley last season, and SMU. The door is open for Louisville to be the ACC’s second representative in the CFP, if the conference even gets one. They aren’t quite the second-best team in the league just yet, but that distinction is up for grabs.