When looking at Louisville football’s 2026 schedule, a lot of the attention goes to the big games early. The Cardinals have a relatively favorable schedule from game to game, but by no means is this a cakewalk.
Louisville’s first three weeks are getting all the attention. The Cardinals are traveling to Tennessee to face the Ole Miss Rebels, who are coming off a historic season in which they won 13 games and reached the College Football Playoff semifinals. Then, just two weeks after that huge game, the Cardinals get their toughest ACC opponent, SMU.
However, those two games aren’t the only tough games on the Cardinals' schedule, and CBS Sports' Brad Crawford just circled Louisville’s glaring No. 1 trap game on its schedule.
CBS Sports circles Louisville's tough road matchup with NC State
Louisville’s ACC schedule is much more favorable this year than last year. The Cardinals don’t have to play Miami, Clemson, Duke or Virginia, and they are playing five of the bottom seven teams who had a combined 12-28 conference record and were outscored by a combined 298 points.
However, there are a few sneaky teams Louisville plays that the Cardinals can’t overlook, and the biggest trap game, according to Crawford, is Week 5 against North Carolina State.
“Trap game for me is at NC State on October 3, comes in about Week 5 there,” stated Crawford. “There are some big games early, Katie, the Ole Miss, obviously that season opener. That can kind of get Louisville in that top 20 if you upset the Rebels. But then you got SMU, Wake Forest, NC State. Louisville can not afford to start ACC play 1-2 and have a chance of being one of those elite tier teams in November. And road games in Raleigh, as Chip knows they are a little tricky.”
Crawford went on to explain that Louisville has better talent and the Cardinals should win this game, but as Georgia Tech fans saw last year, Carter-Finley Stadium is no easy place to play on the road.
The big name returning for the Wolfpack is star quarterback C.J. Bailey, who is expected to be one of the top QB’s in the ACC. The returning quarterback had an impressive 2025 season, throwing for 3,105 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing nearly 69 percent of his passes. The quarterback also has the ability to scramble and run, rushing for 215 yards and six touchdowns.
With the Cardinals' two massive games in the first three weeks, this is one game Louisville can’t afford to lose if they want a shot at the ACC Title and the College Football Playoffs. It will be one of their toughest road games of the season, but if the Cardinals start 1-2 as CBS Sports predicted, then this road game against NC State emerges as an early Week 5 must-win.
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