Louisville football opens as a dominant 38.5-point favorite over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, making it quite simple for the fans and the team to overlook their Week 1 opponent. The Cardinals have dominated FCS opponents lately, winning 25 straight, and will look to make it 26 on Saturday.
However, Jeff Brohm is ensuring his team is ready for Saturday and doing everything possible to avoid a devastating upset. The Cardinals have their sights set on the ACC Championship game and the College Football Playoffs, and he knows they must play up to those standards every week to achieve those goals, including Week 1.
Well, when Brohm spoke to the media at the beginning of the week, he made sure to relay his fiery message to his team and fans, emphasizing that they cannot play with their food this week and that Eastern Kentucky is going to come in "licking their lips" and hungry.
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Jeff Brohm's fiery message sets the tone for Louisville football's 2025 season
Brohm's Cardinals are trending as a solid dark horse candidate for the College Football Playoffs as of late. For that to happen, they first have to take care of business and beat Eastern Kentucky this Saturday, and they must do so in a dominant fashion. And that is Brohm's message to his team as the season is just a few days away.
"You never know what can happen," Brohm stated Monday at his press conference. "Winning is not easy, so taking all the necessary steps to get there is vital to success, for myself, our coaches, and our players. If you think you can take a shortcut or you think you can take a deep breath, that's when teams sneak up on you and beat you. You can't allow that to happen. It is a long season, and every week you've got to step up to the plate."
Brohm emphasized the message that "anything can happen", and he ended his message by stating that this league is competitive, and if a team is coached well and if players work hard, then anyone can beat anyone, and that applies on Saturday. "Anybody can beat us," he stated in his statement.
Just last season, Notre Dame was upset by Northern Illinois at home in South Bend after beating Texas A&M in Week 1. Brohm's stern message is exactly what elite coaches tell their teams to ensure they avoid upsets or close games and dominate against the teams they should dominate.
Brohm, being the head coach at Western Kentucky for a few years, understands what the opportunity means for Eastern Kentucky to come to Louisville. He made it clear that EKU is going to arrive at L&N Stadium with a chip on their shoulder and play with a sense of urgency, proving they belong. It is now up to Louisville to dominate all three phases of the game and put them away early.
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For all the latest on Louisville football's 2025 season, stay tuned.