Louisville football fans, college football is right around the corner. The season is quickly approaching us, and Louisville continues to trend in the right direction.
The Cardinals are trending as a consensus top 25 program entering the 2025 season. Jeff Brohm and his staff have formed one of the best offenses on paper in the ACC, leading many to believe they are the top dark horse candidate to win the ACC.
Louisville is given +850 odds to win the ACC, which ranks it No. 3 behind Clemson's +110 and Miami's +420. With the season just a little over one month away, Sports Illustrated is releasing their top 25 one ranking at a time until August 22.
Cardinals fans learned today that Louisville is officially ranked No. 24 entering the season by Sports Illustrated, and they are highly optimistic about their offense, while being reasonably hesitant about their defense.
Related: 3 crucial factors Miller Moss must master to lead Louisville to an ACC Title
Louisville football's biggest concern heading into the season
The Cardinals will be led by their transfer quarterback Miller Moss and preseason All-American Isaac Brown. The Cardinals' offense is loaded, and they will have the full capability to put up a lot of points, and the SI Staff agrees. It is the defense that worries them.
"We all expect—heck, know—the offense will be good under Jeff Brohm & Co., but it will likely be the defense that determines Louisville’s ceiling in 2025 and whether some of those close losses turn into enough wins to be an ACC challenger to Clemson."SI Staff
Brohm has proven in his first two years that he can win with transfer quarterbacks and beat elite programs. In Brohm's first year, he led the team to a 10-win season and defeated Notre Dame. Last year, he secured the program's first win over the Clemson Tigers.
The Cardinals lost a lot of talent in the secondary and on the defensive line, but their star linebackers will look to carry the load. Louisville's defense is the biggest X-factor heading into the season, and that is the silver lining of why they are ranked No. 24 and not higher.
Louisville will have a clear path to the ACC Championship game, but they will have to go through Miami, Clemson, and SMU if they want to return to Charlotte. The Cardinals are happy to be ranked No. 24 by Sports Illustrated, but if the defense can step up and get crucial turnovers and stops, then this program knows that is not the ceiling for the season.
Related: Louisville football 2025 game-by-game predictions
For all the latest on Louisville football's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.