Louisville football is trending this offseason, as college football is keeping an eye on the Cardinals and Jeff Brohm. While Louisville has yet to make an appearance in the College Football Playoffs, Brohm and the Cards' fans realized the blueprint had just been revealed when Curt Cignetti and Indiana proved any program can win in this day and age.
The Indiana Hoosiers were 3-9 in 2023, then Cignetti took over the program, brought them to the College Football Playoffs in 2024, and then dominated last year, going 16-0 and winning the program's first National Championship.
Now, with Brohm returning for another year after a coaching carousel chaos, Brohm made it clear this Cardinals team is close.
Jeff Brohm believes Louisville football is 'close'
Louisville is coming off its second 9-4 season under Brohm, but this program continues to take small steps in the right direction. The Cardinals continue to earn marquee wins, as last year, they beat the NCAA Title runner-ups in Miami on the road, the year prior, they beat Clemson, and in 2023, they beat Notre Dame.
Now, they just have to put a full season together and try to earn their first College Football Playoff berth.
"The fact that Louisville has not made the playoffs or won a national championship is appealing to me to try to do something that hasn’t been done before," Brohm stated in a recent interview with On3 Sports. "We’re close.”
Brohm’s name was linked to many college football programs, including Penn State, LSU, Florida, and Michigan, as all four major programs were heavily interested in the Cardinals coach. However, Brohm made it clear he feels he is building something special with Louisville, and he has the chance to build the Cardinals' history and tradition and help this program compete at the elite level.
Brohm had one of the best offseasons in the nation as their Transfer Portal class ranks No. 5 in college football. ESPN ranks this team as high as No. 14 in the nation, and CBS Sports went on to predict this Cardinals team to go undefeated in its ACC games and to return to the ACC Championship game.
Louisville is a team many analysts and experts are keeping an eye on this offseason, as Louisville is definitely a dark horse to make a run to the College Football Playoffs. With Brohm returning to his fourth year, he certainly sounds hungry and is sending a strong message to the Cardinals fans for the 2026 season.
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