Louisville football suffered a crushing Week 1 loss as the Cardinals fell just short in a thrilling 41-38 game against Ole Miss. The No. 9 Rebels defeated Louisville in the final seconds of the game after Lucas Carneiro drilled a 48-yard field goal.
Now, Louisville sits 0-1, and Cardinals fans are patiently waiting to see whether they'll get the respect they deserve from AP voters. Well, the AP Poll was just released moments ago, and Louisville fans are happy to see the Cardinals didn’t drop out of the rankings and remained No. 24 heading into Week 2.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/89dk3PyWTC pic.twitter.com/aOYdirpRkM
— On3 (@On3) September 8, 2026
Louisville football remains ranked No. 24 entering Week 2
This is exactly where the Cardinals should be ranked heading into their first home game of the season. Despite Louisville losing their Sunday night game and starting 0-1, the Cardinals showed college football fans nationwide that they are a legit team this year and can compete with the best.
Ole Miss is coming off a 13-win season and a CFP semifinal run, and the Cardinals tying the game up with 1:28 remaining and losing on a last-second field goal earned many fans and analysts respect. Now, there are no moral victories in sports, and Sunday certainly wasn’t one, but the Cardinals staying ranked at No. 24 shows that Louisville has the nation's attention and is legit in 2026.
Louisville has to go out and win this upcoming weekend, and then get ready for another major test as they will host No. 17 SMU in Week 3. The Cardinals showed on Sunday that they are a real threat in the ACC, but now they have to beat Villanova next week and SMU the following week to send a message to the ACC and the rest of the country that they are a real CFP contender.
Other notable teams ranked in the AP Top 25 include Miami, ranked No. 7; Ole Miss, which stayed at No. 9; SMU, which moved up two spots to No. 17; and Virginia, which jumped into the rankings and is now one spot behind Louisville at No. 24.
The Cardinals may be 0-1, but Louisville proved they are better than their record suggests. Now they have to build on that performance and prove they deserve to be ranked this weekend and next. The loss certainly hurt, but AP voters and the rest of the nation now know what this team is capable of in 2026.
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