The AP Polls were just released, and Louisville football gets the respect they deserve. The Cardinals were shocked to see they were unranked in the Preseason Coaches Poll, but after waiting for the AP Polls, Louisville fans are pleased with their ranking.
The AP Polls were just released moments ago, and the Cardinals will enter the 2026 season ranked No. 24.
BREAKING: Preseason College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/JL3USE6MnT pic.twitter.com/wImUOmUUg5
— On3 (@On3) August 17, 2026
Louisville football ranked No. 24 in AP Poll
The Cardinals have been emerging as an ACC Title threat and a real dark horse for the College Football Playoffs. Jeff Brohm had one of the best Transfer Portal classes in the Nation, after landing over 32 transfers from the portal.
The offense gets a lot of attention from the Transfer Portal, as the Cardinals landed their fourth quarterback from the portal under Brohm. Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz will lead Louisville’s QB room, and the 4-star transfer will have some elite weapons on the outside as the Cardinals landed three 4-star transfers in Tre Richardson, Lawayne McCoy, and Brody Foley.
However, the star of the offense is going to be this dominant running back room. There is a lot of hype surrounding preseason All-American Isaac Brown and his partner Keyjuan Brown. Both running backs averaged over seven yards per carry this past season and are expected to be the stars of this offense.
On defense, Louisville’s defensive line is expected to be just as dominant as last year. They bring back Clev Lubin and AJ Green up front and add Tyler Thompson, who had seven sacks. They returned TJ Capers, Stanquan Clark, Antonio Watts, and Kalib Perry at linebacker, and in the secondary, Tayon Holloway and Jabari Mack return and Louisville brought in Tennessee transfer Kaleb Beasley, Ole Miss transfer TJ Banks, Kentucky transfer DJ Waller, and Iowa transfer Koen Entringer.
The Cardinals have a lot of talent, and they have the potential to shock a lot of college football fans this upcoming season. The Cardinals have a favorable schedule and a strong chance to climb these polls. The Cardinals face Ole Miss in Week 1, who rank No. 9 in the nation, and then in Week 3 they face No. 19 SMU.
Brohm believes rankings will play themselves out, and he is right. Preseason rankings shouldn’t mean a whole lot, but the Cardinals fans will learn a lot about this team after Week 3. If Louisville is 3-0 this Cardinals team has a very high chance to make the CFP; if Louisville is 2-1, the Cardinals secured a big win over Ole Miss or SMU; and if Louisville is 1-2, then Louisville has little room for error the rest of the way.
Louisville will face Ole Miss on September 6 in Tennessee.
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