Earlier this week, the first Coaches Poll was released, and Louisville football fans were stunned to learn that the Cardinals were not ranked. The Cardinals have won at least nine games in three straight seasons under Jeff Brohm, and this offseason the Cardinals had one of the most productive off-season out of anyone in college football.
Brohm was able to keep elite running backs Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown on offense, as well as key defensive stars Clev Lubin, AJ Green, Stanquan Clark, Antonio Watts, TJ Capers,, and others. The Cardinals have the third highest odds to win the ACC, as they secured a top five Transfer Portal class after adding over 32 transfers, including multiple 4-stars like Tre Richardson, Lincoln Kienholz, Brody Foley and others.
However, the Cardinals are unranked. Recently, Josh Pate broke down the Coaches Poll and was shocked that one ACC team was ranked; it certainly makes it seem like Louisville should be in and they should be out.
Josh Pate was shocked Clemson was ranked in preseason rankings
Pate is one of college football’s most well-known sports insiders and analysts. He is the host of Josh Pate’s College Football Show on YouTube, which has over 500,000 subscribers, and he was recently shocked to see Clemson ranked.
“Is this a typo at No. 23 because I see the Clemson Tiger paw and certainly that can’t be reality,” stated Pate. “Certainly you meant to put something else. Certainly this is just a graphical oversight.”
Pate was shocked, to say the least, that the Tigers, who finished 7-6 this past season, were ranked No. 23 in the nation in the preseason Coaches Poll. If there was one team Louisville fans have a real argument about being ranked above, the Clemson Tigers might be the strongest argument.
“Dabo himself had to have looked at this when it had come out and said, ‘Who is really 23rd though,” stated Pate laughingly. “Based on what? There is no basis for the most hardcore of Clemson fanatics on this planet to rank that team in the preseason.”
Pate even then showed a graphic of a Clemson fan posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) saying Clemson is only ranked “to give LSU a “ranked win” week 1.”
If we are being 100% honest with ourselves.
— Clemson Addict (@Clemson_Addict) August 4, 2026
Like brutally honest.
7-6 team coming off of 9 players getting drafted
We are only ranked to give LSU a “ranked win” week 1
SEC media machine thinks they’re slick https://t.co/FU6uT3iE6S
The Clemson fan reveals that the Tigers had nine players drafted, that they are coming off an underwhelming 7-6 season, and that even Tigers fans have to admit they shouldn’t be ranked. If Clemson weren’t ranked, the Cardinals would be the next team in, as Louisville was the first team out of the top 25.
It is only the Coaches Poll in August, so it doesn’t matter, and everything will play itself out. But Pate raises a valid point: if there were a team that didn’t belong, it would be the Cardinals' ACC rival.
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