Louisville football was stunned entirely last night in front of its home crowd as the Cardinals dropped their second game of the 2025 season. Louisville was an 18.5-point favorite entering the game, but turnovers and poor plays by the Cards' secondary allowed Cal to stick around longer than they should have, forcing overtime. Louisville would fall in overtime for the second time this season, crushing the Cardinals' fans' hope and dreams for the ACC Title and College Football Playoffs.
Louisville had the highest odds of making the CFP from the ACC entering Saturday, but after the Cardinals lost, the fans saw their odds plummet, giving them a reality check of their chances for the rest of the season.
Louisville football's CFP and ACC Title dreams crushed after loss
Entering the weekend, Louisville had the third-highest odds to win the ACC, but after their loss to a 6-4 Cal squad, they are now almost certainly out of the race. A lot of chaos would have to happen for Louisville to make it back to Charlotte, as the Cards now sit 4-2 in the ACC and in sixth place.
Louisville now has +1500 odds to win the ACC, and gave Georgia Tech a massive boost as the Yellow Jackets saw their odds skyrocket to the front after a weekend of chaos, according to FanDuel. Georgia Tech is now the frontrunner again, with +185 odds to win the ACC, followed by Duke at +270 and SMU at +550. In order, it then goes to Pitt, Virginia, and Miami, all of whom have higher odds than the Cardinals.
The Cards' odds to make the playoffs are now +1280, making it feel like this loss put an end to any College Football Playoff conversation. Louisville was ranked No. 15 in the first CFP rankings, but after this gut-wrenching loss, the Cardinals will most likely drop to the 20s.
The fans are at a loss for words by the Cards' performance last night. The city was coming together and was picturing not just a possibility of Louisville playing in the College Football Playoffs, but L&N Stadium hosting a playoff game. However, the hype train only lasted a week, as these odds crushed any fan's dream.