Louisville football continues to earn offseason praise as the Cardinals land in yet another preseason top 25. The Cardinals fans were completely stunned and disrespected when they learned they weren’t ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll.
However, despite the Cardinals not being ranked in the Coaches Poll, Louisville is unanimously ranked in media and everyone else's rankings. The Cardinals were just recently ranked No. 19 in Joel Klatt’s preseason rankings, and now On3 Sports is the latest media outlet to give Louisville its flowers.
Louisville football lands in On3 Sports preseason Top 25
The Cards have an incredibly busy offseason, securing a top five Transfer Portal class and landing over 32 transfers from the portal. Now, Jeff Brohm and the Cardinals are expected to be one of the top teams, and On3 Sports rankings prove that.
On3 Sports has Louisville ranked No. 22 in the nation in their preseason rankings. Many believe this is right where the Cardinals belong, leading up to their massive Week 1 showdown with Ole Miss. The Cardinals will have a chance to prove themselves immediately as Ole Miss is ranked No. 10 in the Coaches Poll and No. 9 in On3 Sports rankings.
NEW: On3 2026 College Football Preseason Top 25👀
— On3 (@On3) August 11, 2026
Do you agree?🤔https://t.co/CxJOBEw8d1 pic.twitter.com/IHviZNcZuN
Louisville has a huge opportunity to climb up in these rankings and emerge as a true CFP contender if they can compete and pull off the upset, but the Cardinals also have other opportunities as well. The other two ACC teams in these rankings are No. 7 Miami and No. 19 Ole Miss. Louisville’s schedule is favorable as they don’t play Miami, Clemson, or Virginia, but they get a huge Week 3 home matchup against SMU.
The Cardinals have a real chance this year to return to the ACC Championship game. They added 4-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and multiple 4-star receivers, Lawayne McCoy, Tre Richardson, and Brody Foley. They, of course, return Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown to their dominant running back room, which is expected to be one of the top running back units in the country.
On defense, they are led by preseason All-American Clev Lubin and other key returners, AJ Green, Stanquan Clark, Antonio Watts, and TJ Capers.
Louisville fans will keep a close eye on when the first AP Poll comes out, but for right now, while the Cardinals aren’t ranked in the Coaches Poll, they continue to earn respect and praise from other notable outlets.
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