Two more days!
Louisville football fans, we are so close to seeing the Cardinals in action, as Jeff Brohm and company will run out of the tunnel for the first time in 2026 and take the field against the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels in a huge Week 1 showdown. The Cardinals are 0-7 against ranked opponents in Week 1, but Brohm will look to rewrite history and defeat his third top-10 team since coming to UofL.
With Week 1 getting underway yesterday in dramatic fashion, college football fans and experts are beginning to release their final preseason College Football Playoff predictions. One college football reporter, FanSided’s Josh Yourish, revealed his top 12, and Cardinals fans are going to love what he had to say and what he predicted.
Louisville predicted to make its first College Football Playoff
All offseason, Louisville fans have heard the Cardinals are a real dark-horse team to make the CFP this season. Brohm had a massive offseason, landing a top-five portal class, returning key players like Clev Lubin and Isaac Brown, and winning nine games in three straight seasons. But the big question is the quarterback, Lincoln Kienholz, and his experience.
While a lot of people have been saying good things about Louisville, not many have predicted they'd actually make the playoffs. Until Josh did.
Yourish predicted the Cardinals to be the No. 11 seed in the College Football Playoffs, making their first-ever CFP appearance.
"Louisville is built in a bit of a non-traditional way when you weigh positional value. The Cardinals are stacked at running back and linebacker, and while it's fair to question if those are the most important places to allocate resources, it makes them reliable on both sides of the ball. Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown make up one of the most dynamic backfield duos, and now with Lincoln Kienholz coming from Ohio State, this run game should be devastating.Josh Yourish
Miller Moss notwithstanding, I trust Jeff Brohm to develop the quarterback position, and with a deep backfield and an edge rusher like Clev Lubin, who can close games out, this team will be hard to beat when it dictates the terms of engagement. Can it do that to Trinidad Chambliss and Ole Miss in Week 1? That has me holding my breath with this pick, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and hope it doesn’t break. "
The Cardinals have often flown under the radar, but when you look at this roster, it is easy to side with Yourish and believe this team can make a run to the CFP. As he stated, they are stacked in the running back room with Brown and Brown; they have a loaded defensive line with Lubin, AJ Green, and Tyler Thompson; their linebacker room is very experienced, returning Stanquan Clark, TJ Capers, and Antonio Watts; and their secondary returned Tayon Holloway and added Iowa safety Koen Entringer.
The biggest question mark with this team is Kienholz, and Yourish hit it spot on. Brohm is an elite quarterback whisperer with a proven track record of developing QBs from the Transfer Portal. Kienholz is a 4-star transfer and a former 4-star recruit, and with his ability to run, this offense has a chance to be extremely explosive.
Yourish is making a bold prediction, but this roster has enough talent for it to be realistic. Brohm has consistently found ways to win big games, and if they can pull off a stunner in Week 1, Yourish's prediction will look even better.
Add us as a preferred source on Google