Louisville football has a clear CFP path after heartbreaking Ole Miss loss

Louisville football had a gut-wrenching Week 1 loss, where the Cardinals came up just short against No. 9 Ole Miss, 41-38. Louisville grabbed everyone’s attention in their first game, as Jeff Brohm nearly pulled off a major upset and took the Rebels to the final seconds of the game.

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Now, with Louisville’s impressive Week 1 performance, the Cardinals are emerging as a real threat in the ACC. Many believed this team could compete in the ACC for a spot in the ACC Championship game, but after Sunday’s performance, some now believe it can compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Louisville football is a lefit CFP contender

Entering the 2026 season, many college football analysts called Louisville a dark-horse team in the ACC to make the CFP, but few were actually picking them to go. Well, their first game showed the nation that this team is legit, and with the way Lincoln Kienholz played, once the Cardinals' run game takes off, they have a real chance to go on a run and make the playoffs.

On3 Sports Andy Staples released his updated College Football Playoff Bracketology, and the Cardinals fans will be pleased with where UofL stands. While Staples doesn’t have Louisville in the playoff or as a top-12 seed, he does have Louisville as one of the first four teams out.

For Louisville, who sits 0-1, this is a great place to be, as it shows just how impressive they were in that Week 1 matchup against Ole Miss. The Cards were ranked No. 24 in the nation for their Week 1 matchup, and now, after a loss, Staples appears to be high on this Jeff Brohm team, as he is predicting Louisville to be ranked No. 15 at the end of the season.

Now, of course, the goal isn’t to miss the playoffs, and with Staples predicting Virginia to make the CFP as the No. 11 seed, he is also predicting the Cavaliers to play Miami in the ACC Championship game. So, Louisville has some ground to cover in this Bracketology, but as we said above, this is a great spot for Louisville following their crushing Week 1 loss to Ole Miss.

The Cardinals have a very favorable path the rest of the way, as they don’t play Miami or Virginia this season, and they get Pitt and SMU at home. As for their tough road games, they saw Georgia Tech and North Carolina State lose Week 1, and it wasn’t pretty, as the Yellow Jackets lost to an underwhelming Colorado team, and the Wolfpack lost 34-8 to Virginia.

So the path is there for Louisville. Now they have to put together a full season and build off this loss.

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