The 2025 Louisville football season is coming closer and closer, and the Cardinals faithful are anxiously awaiting their first game of the season. Jeff Brohm has key players returning from last year's squad while also adding crucial additions from the Transfer Portal.
Louisville, of course, added Miller Moss, who will look to start for Brohm next season, and then on the defensive side added many much-needed defensive backs after Louisville lost four of their top five from 2024's roster. Louisville's roster is emerging as a massive dark horse to win the ACC Title, as many fans and experts are beginning to speak on Brohm's squad.
The most recent expert to give Louisville praise is ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy. The college football expert has spoken highly of Louisville all offseason, specifically Brohm, as he listed him as the No. 8 best coach in college football. Well, now he plans to give Louisville the flowers they deserve and not only thinks they can contend for the ACC Title, but thinks they can be a legitimate contender to make the College Football Playoffs.
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College Football Expert Believes Louisville Is a Legit CFP Threat in 2025
McElroy is the host of his college football show, "Always College Football", and in one of his most recent episodes, the expert listed all the ACC teams in tiers. The tiers included: NCAA Title contenders, CFP contenders, spoilers, Bowl-bound, and work to do.
While it comes as no surprise that Clemson and Miami found their ways in tier 1, National Championship contenders, it is a good sign for Louisville to be his No. 3 team in the conference and make tier 2, CFP contenders.
This is right where Brohm's roster belongs, as they are loaded on offense and have the skill and potential on defense to create some chaos. The Cardinals have a challenging schedule, but McElroy breaks down how this team is destined to be a legitimate threat in the ACC and make a run for the College Football Playoffs.
“They had a really solid season last year,” McElroy stated. “Jeff Brohm does an amazing job. I don’t think anybody’s going to push back on that. I like the addition of Miller Moss. Now, you look at what they had last year in Tyler Shough; he was outstanding. Was rewarded with a second-round pick from the New Orleans Saints and is likely to be a Day 1 starter for the Saints here this season. But Miller Moss, at times, big key there, at times has been very, very solid.”
Moss comes into Louisville after having a disappointing season last year with the Trojans, as he was benched after throwing seven interceptions in five games. However, as McElroy alluded to, he has shown potential. Louisville knows that because he played his best game against them in the Holiday Bowl when he threw six touchdowns.
It is no secret why Louisville has such high expectations, though, and that is because of its running backs.
“This is an exceptionally good running back duo. You might have one of the best running back tandems in the entire country. Isaac Brown was the ACC Rookie of the Year last year, went for over 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s widely considered one of the best backs in college football. You also have Duke Watson, who I think can take some of the load off from time to time. This is a great one, two punch, and the offense should be centered around how often those guys are getting touches and how good they’re going to be running the football.”
McElroy then went on to reveal what the biggest question mark is for Louisville if they want to make a run for the CFP. Louisville's offense is going to score, and they are going to do it at an elite level. However, if they want to return to Charlotte and make the program's first-ever College Football Playoff appearance, then their defense must step up.
“The defense was kind of the biggest question mark," McElroy stated. "You look at what they have back at the linebacker spot, they should be pretty good. You also look too at what they’ve done from a transfer portal standpoint. Looks like things should be pretty good there on the defensive side. So, you look at the back end, that’s the big concern. I think Louisville’s secondary, especially at corner, they’ve lost several impactful defensive backs to graduation and to the Transfer Portal. So, they’ve got to rebuild that unit, but they feel pretty confident based on what they have."
Louisville's roster has the potential to make a run. Their offense is going to have to carry them, but if the defense can't step up late in the game, or play high-level football like they were playing in 2023, then the Cardinals will have a tough chance to make the CFP, especially with how hard their schedule is.
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For all the latest on Louisville football's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.