Louisville football is entering the 2026 season with high expectations after securing one of the best Transfer Portal classes in the nation. Jeff Brohm and company added 30 players from the portal and will bring in 20 players from the 2026 recruiting class.
The Cardinals will be led by key returners like Isaac Brown, Antonio Watts, and Clev Lubin, while 4-star transfers Tre Richardson, Brody Foley, and Koen Entringer are set to make an immediate impact. Cardinals fans feel good about the roster they built and think this team can compete for a spot in the ACC Championship game.
However, CBS Sports college football analyst Brady Crawford recently released his Way-too-early College Football Playoff projection for the 2026 season, and Cardinals fans quickly realized how big the gap is between them and the Miami Hurricanes.
Related: Way-too-early Louisville football 2026 game-by-game predictions
Louisville football gets clarity on the gap between Cardinals and Miami
Louisville is ranked by many experts and media outlets in their way-too-early top-25 for the 2026 season, and is even ranked as high as No. 14. However, the Hurricanes are projected as a unanimous top 10 team for next season, and Crawford went as far as projecting them as the No. 1 seed in the 2026 College Football Playoffs.
"There's no recency bias here coming out of the Hurricanes' national championship appearance. Mario Cristobal has another Infinity Gauntlet-like roster, landing his own Thanos of sorts after Duke quarterback Darian Mensah's recent transfer. Pairing Mensah with superstar wideout Malachi Toney means the Hurricanes should have an explosive attack for the third consecutive year in the passing game under OC Shannon Dawson. Outgoing pass rusher Rueben Bain's recent admission that Miami's defensive line "might be better" without him is quite worrisome for the rest of the ACC."Brad Crawford
The Hurricanes are, of course, coming off a special run in the 2025 College Football Playoffs. Miami was led by Carson Beck and company as they earned the No. 10 seed in the playoffs, the only ACC team despite not winning the ACC Title, and went on to win three games, losing a close battle to Indiana in the National Championship.
Good news for Cardinals fans, if they meet Miami in Charlotte, they have had their number under Brohm, going 2-1 against the Hurricanes, including a win in Miami last season. But while Louisville fans are high on their offseason and think they can compete for the ACC Title, Crawford's projection spells trouble for the Cardinals, as he indicates the Canes are poised for another massive season in 2026 and are trending to steamroll the conference.
The Cardinals are trending in the right direction with this portal class, and they have what it takes to make a lot of noise next season. But they will face an ACC giant in Miami, which won’t be easy to get through as they eye their first ACC Title and first College Football Playoff berth.