Josh Pate’s early Top 25 confirms Louisville football is built to contend in the ACC

Louisville football fans are counting down the days until spring practice, as this Cardinals team made many changes but expects to be one of the top teams in the ACC. Jeff Brohm had a lot of work to do this offseason and exceeded many fans' expectations as he had to rebuild multiple positions, including his quarterback room.

Brohm went out and got Ohio State transfer and former 4-star Lincoln Kienholz and added multiple 4-stars for his offense, including Marquise Davis, Lawayne McCoy, Brody Foley, and Tre Richardson. The Cardinals' offense should be highly explosive next season, led by preseason All-American Isaac Brown, who will play his third season under Brohm.

With this elite offense, the Cardinals are landing in multiple way-too-early Top-25s, and Josh Pate just recently put his own out, and Cardinals fans will be pleased where they sit.

Josh Pate puts Louisville football in position to contend in the ACC

Louisville comes in ranked No. 24 in Pate’s way-too-early Top-25. They won’t jump for joy as they want to be ranked higher, but they are happy to see their logo at least.

“Louisville at 24, always a safe bet there,” Pate said on his show Sunday night. “It seems like Jeff Brohm has those guys floating in that range every year anyway.”

Louisville is coming off its second straight 9-4 season under Brohm, and will look to take that next step and return to the ACC Championship game. Louisville is one of three ACC teams in Pate’s way-too-early Top-25, with Miami ranked the highest at No. 6 and SMU the other ACC team at No. 20.

While Louisville doesn’t play Miami this year, they do play the Mustangs for the third straight season. The Cards have lost the two previous seasons, and this year's matchup comes super early in Week 3 on Sept. 19 inside L&N Stadium. Other key teams in these rankings include Ole Miss, who the Cardinals open up against in Week 1 in Nashville.

The Rebels are ranked No. 16 in Pates early rankings, but the analyst stated that if quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is eligible to play, they would be a Top-10 team.

Pate putting Louisville at No. 24 feels like a safe bet, and that is pretty much what he said about the teams ranked from No. 21 to No. 25.

“These are just teams that are kind of just solid proven commodities where the floor is no lower than this to me,” Pate stated.

Pate stating the Cards floor is being a top-25 team is a bit of an upside. There are still plenty of months left until Week 1, but until that huge showdown with Ole Miss, Louisville fans truly believe that, with the roster Brohm built and the schedule they were handed, the Cardinals aren’t just a top-25 team but an ACC contender.

For all the latest recruiting news and updates for Louisville football, stay tuned.