Louisville football had a crushing Week 1 loss on Sunday night, when the Cardinals 4th quarter comeback came up just short of the Ole Miss Rebels. The Cards were trailing Ole Miss by 14 with under seven minutes to go, but Lincoln Kienholz showed his ability to lead this team already by putting together back-to-back touchdown drives and tying the game with just 1:28 remaining.
Predicting the AP Top 25: Where is Louisville? Michigan drops, LSU rises, more
However, Ole Miss answered the Cards' comeback with a last-second field goal that would force Louisville to start 0-1 in 2026. Now, Louisville fans and many college football analysts are wondering whether UofL will be ranked entering Week 2, or whether the AP Polls will drop Louisville out of the rankings despite playing a top-10 team to the final second.
CBS Sports previewed what they believe should happen with the rankings, and Cardinals fans are all in on what college football analyst Emory Hunt had to say, as he pointed out the glaring truth about the Cardinals and Michigan.
CBS Sports analyst says Louisville should be ranked ahead of Michigan
After Week 1, it feels like the big discussion is Michigan vs. Louisville. The Cardinals are 0-1 while Michigan is 1-0, but one team played a top-10 team in the nation and lost by three, while the other played Western Michigan and won on a controversial Hail Mary.
Michigan was trailing 12-7 with nine seconds left, and Bryce Underwood threw what many thought was the final play of the game. The clock certainly looked like it hit zero before the ball touched any player, and many thought the game was over. However, the refs put one final second left on the clock, which led to a miracle Hail Mary in which Underwood connected with JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard touchdown.
Now, many are debating who should rank higher in the Week 2 rankings between Louisville and Michigan, and it is hard to argue against the Cardinals. Louisville played a top-ten team in the country, and beyond the eye test, they can compete in the ACC and against one of the best teams in the nation.
“Louisville looks more like a top-16 team, and Michigan looks like a team that is just supposed to be in the top 25,” stated Hunt. “I think we see a situation where Louisville, despite losing, gets a bump up based on how they played. Because they came into the game ranked No. 24. They played a much better team. They looked significantly better than Michigan did against a team that was unranked. The eye test does not fool you. It does not lie.”
Should Louisville be ranked ahead of Michigan? 🤔
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 7, 2026
“The eye test does not fool you. It does not lie. Tonight we saw Louisville look better than a team we saw the night before in Michigan.”
🎙️: @FBallGameplan pic.twitter.com/oBtbdFJCxD
Rankings will all play themselves out, but the Cardinals are consistently this team that flies under the radar, and while there are no moral victories in sports, Hunt nailed this one. Louisville looked like the better team. They went up against Ole Miss, which is coming off a CFP semifinal run, a 13-win season, and two preseason All-Americans.
While Michigan, well, won on a controversial decision against Western Michigan. The Cardinals looked like the better team, and for that, they should be ranked in Week 2 and ahead of Michigan.
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