October is just a couple of days away, and Louisville football fans have already experienced many highs and lows. Louisville battled Ole Miss in Week 1 and grabbed national media attention by contending with a top-10 team, then upset No. 16 SMU in a huge conference matchup just a couple of weeks later.
ACC power rankings Week 5: Louisville football takes huge hit, Wake Forest soars
The Cardinals looked like the biggest threat to Miami for the ACC title and were trending not just as an ACC Title contender, but as a College Football Playoff contender. They were 2-1, had the second-highest odds to make the CFP from the ACC, and showed a lot of promise entering their fourth game.
However, the Cardinals, of course, lost that Week 4 matchup to Wake Forest, and now Louisville’s chances of making history have taken a massive hit.
Louisville's CFP chances just took a huge hit
Entering the season, Louisville fans were eyeing history, as the Cardinals are starving for an ACC Title and their first College Football Playoff appearance. All offseason, Cardinals fans heard how good Jeff Brohm is and that Louisville has won nine or more games in three straight seasons; while that is a big step for this program, fans are now ready to take the next leap and become a CFP program.
However, the Cardinals' loss to Wake Forest was absolutely crushing for their CFP chances. ESPN gave Louisville a 22% chance of making the playoffs after the SMU win, but after the loss, it plummeted to just 4%.
Saturday's results changed the College Football Playoff landscape 👀
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) September 29, 2026
Four teams had their chances swing by at least 20%, according to the Allstate Playoff Predictor ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/qbn4zMb1SD
Now, Louisville isn’t out yet. The Cardinals likely need to win out and win the ACC Title to make the College Football Playoffs, and while ESPN clearly views that as unlikely, don’t lose faith just yet, Cardinals fans.
The Cardinals have a very favorable schedule, but they have to take care of business and now have little room for error. Louisville doesn’t play Miami, Clemson, Virginia, Duke, or Virginia Tech, and gets to play five of the bottom six teams in the league.
So, the path is there for Louisville to win out, but Brohm must take it one week at a time.They have the talent. They just need to play disciplined football and avoid giving up those big plays.
It starts this weekend, when Louisville travels to North Carolina State for its first real road game. The Cardinals and Wolfpack will kick off at 3:30 p.m. local time. ESPN just sent a loud message to the Cardinals with this recent update, so if Louisville wants to make history, they must take care of business and beat the 1-2 Wolfpack this Saturday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google