Jeff Brohm and Louisville football turned heads this past offseason with their additions from the Transfer Portal. The Cardinals not only recruited and landed over 31 transfers, but also avoided disastrous scenarios such as losing Isaac Brown, Antonio Watts, AJ Green, and others.
So, now Louisville is trending as a College Football Playoff dark horse, as Brohm and the Cardinals are trying to punch their ticket to the program's first playoff. With Louisville eyeing its first ACC football title and first College Football Playoff ticket, Cardinals fans are looking up and down their schedule in early July to see which games could trip them up.
Well, Josh Pate just said the quiet part out loud to the rest of the nation as the Cardinals have a huge game on their schedule, and it comes in Week 3 against SMU. And when looking at that game he just made it clear how massive this week 3 showdown is.
Louisville vs SMU has major CFP implications
College football fans and media don’t give Louisville much time or attention. When it comes to football talk in the ACC, the Miami Hurricanes get a lot of that spotlight, but Pate listed out the six most underrated games in 2026, and Louisville vs SMU is at the top of his mind.
“They play each other in week 3, and you are asking yourself, is this going to be a one-bid league or a multi-bid league?” stated Pate. “Well, the result of that game and what the winner does the rest of the year could go a long way in answering that.”
Pate is always high on Brohm and his coaching abilities, and he usually is one of Louisville’s biggest supporters from a media standpoint. And here gives this massive ACC Week 3 showdown the spotlight it deserves.
Both SMU and Louisville have their eyes on the ACC Title and a spot in the 2027 College Football Playoffs, and for one of these teams to make it, the winner of this game gets a major boost. The Cardinals and the Mustangs have very similar odds to win the ACC Title, with SMU at +700 and Louisville at +750, and so if Louisville can start 3-0 and have massive wins over Ole Miss and SMU, then all of a sudden this Cardinals team's CFP odds are soaring.
“Look at the respective schedules after week 3. Neither of these teams play Miami in the regular season. Neither of these teams play Clemson in the regular season," stated Pate. "So, there is a distinct possibility if either of them or both of them win their Week 1 game, and the winner of this game comes out at 3-0, you are looking at a bona fide playoff team contender at that point.”
So, the ACC might not get the attention it deserves (outside of Miami), but Pate just said the quiet part out loud and notified the nation that Louisville and SMU have a Week 3 College Football Playoff implication game.
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