Louisville football is coming off a big-time win over SMU, marking the Cardinals' first win over a top-25 team this season and their first win over SMU in program history. Louisville climbed to No. 16 in the nation and looks like a legit threat in the ACC.
Louisville Lincoln Kienholz gets massive praise from former Florida State QB
Not many predicted the ACC would get multiple teams in the College Football Playoffs, but SEC and Big Ten fans may want to watch out for the Cardinals as they look to earn a spot in the CFP. The Cardinals are looking more and more like a CFP team, not just from the Cardinals fans' perspective but from the national media's.
Sports Illustrated recently updated its 2026 CFP projections, and after Louisville’s major win over SMU, the Cardinals are trending toward program history and their first-ever CFP appearance.
Louisville projected to make first CFP
Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer recently updated his CFP projections, and Cardinals fans are smiling from ear to ear as they see their logo in the bracket. Fischer predicts Louisville will make the playoffs as the last at-large bid team, with the Cards, the 11-seed, facing the former national champions and the 6-seed Indiana Hoosiers.
What a weekend of college football! Here's our CFP projections after Week 3 👀 pic.twitter.com/cFbqZaiGK6
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 21, 2026
Louisville has not only earned a major win by defeating SMU in Week 3, but has also passed the eye test in multiple games. The Cards grabbed the media’s attention with their gritty Week 1 performance against Ole Miss, who are now ranked No. 4 in the country after the Rebels beat LSU this past weekend.
Brohm has this program buzzing and trending as a real CFP contender after Week 3, and what makes them a real threat is this electrifying offense and the rest of their schedule. The Cardinals offense looks like one of the best units in college football, behind Lincoln Kienholz, who has everyone’s attention.
The dual-threat quarterback has thrown for 816 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions, while also rushing for 153 yards and four touchdowns. In addition to Kienholz, they have an elite running back duo in Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown, both of whom can have a breakout game and take over for Louisville. Keyjuan is coming off a career game where he rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and Isaac is the Cardinals preseason All-American, who rushed for a season-high 67 yards against SMU.
Then, looking at Louisville’s schedule, it is hard to argue against putting the Cardinals in the playoffs. According to ESPN Analytics, Louisville is not only favored in every game the rest of the season, but they give the Cardinals a 60 percent chance or higher of winning each game.
The Cardinals don’t have to play Miami, Clemson, Virginia, or Duke this year, and their road games against Georgia Tech and NC State certainly look much easier than we thought this offseason.
Plenty of football remains, but this Cardinals team looks legit after three weeks. Now it is all about going 1-0 and taking care of business each week. However, Louisville fans are loving all this national attention, and it is good to see the Cardinals get the praise they deserve.
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