Week 1 is officially here as Louisville football is just days away from its season opener against Ole Miss. The Cardinals have been making some noise all offseason, with Jeff Brohm trending this squad as a legitimate ACC Title threat and a real dark-horse team to make the College Football Playoffs.
Now, the calendar inches closer to this huge showdown with the Rebels, as the two ranked teams will square off on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. local time. The Cardinals are looking to pull off a massive upset in Week 1, but history suggests they will have their hands full in Nashville.
The odds seem stacked against Louisville, as the program’s history shows the Cardinals struggle immensely in Week 1 matchups against ranked opponents.
Louisville football will look to rewrite history against Ole Miss in Week 1
The Cardinals are known for putting on underwhelming performances in big Week 1 games. ESPN’s Greg McElroy recently previewed the Cardinals and Rebels, and a stat that stood out to us is the Cardinals' record against ranked opponents in Week 1 matchups.
“Louisville is winless in seven season openers against ranked opponents,” stated McElroy on his podcast, Always College Football. “Now five of those are by 17 or more.”
Looking back at some of these games, one that stands out is when Louisville faced No. 1 Alabama in 2018; the Cardinals lost 51-14, and another was against No. 6 Auburn in 2015, when Louisville lost 31-24.
Now, things are much different for the Cardinals, as they have the giant killer on their side: Jeff Brohm. Since Brohm took over Louisville, the Cards have defeated a top-15 team in the nation in all three seasons. They defeated No. 10 Notre Dame in 2023, No. 11 Clemson in 2024, and last year they went to Miami and defeated the No. 2 Hurricanes, who don’t forget beating this Ole Miss team in the CFP semifinals.
So, the Cardinals' track record against ranked opponents in Week 1 might not be great, according to McElroy, but if anyone were to rewrite history and snap this streak, it would be Brohm. History isn’t on the Cardinals' side, but Brohm has proven he can be that giant slayer, and now he just has to do it in Week 1.
If Louisville were able to pull this upset off over No. 9 Ole Miss, not only would it rewrite history, according to McElroy, but it would immediately put Louisville in the CFP conversation.
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