Louisville football is set to play Ole Miss this evening in a huge Week 1 showdown, but before the Cardinals even touch the field in their first game, they look more and more like an ACC Title contender. Entering the 2026 season, everyone locked in one ACC giant as the favorite to win the conference: Miami.
Louisville football vs. Ole Miss final odds and predictions
But behind the Hurricanes, three teams were in the same group: Clemson, SMU, and Louisville. However, while SMU and Louisville still haven't played a game, it certainly feels like their ACC Title hopes just soared through the air, as the Clemson Tigers were completely embarrassed on Saturday night.
Louisville just got huge help from Clemson’s 41-point loss
Clemson entered the season ranked in the Coaches Poll over the Louisville Cardinals. Many were confused by that ranking, as the Tigers are coming off an underwhelming season led by Dabo Swinney, but as Brohm stated, rankings play themselves out, and boy did they.
Yesterday, the Tigers lost to LSU by 41 points after Lane Kiffin made a statement in his debut, defeating Clemson 51-10. Now, it is only Week 1, so we don’t want to write Clemson off completely, but the Cardinals should feel much better about their chances of reaching the ACC Championship game, since it certainly feels like the Tigers aren’t going to be a major threat.
Right now, Miami has the best odds to win the ACC Title at -195, and following the Hurricanes, Louisville and SMU are tied at +800. Before the season started and before last night’s embarrassment, the Tigers were the fourth-highest at +1600; however, that has changed, as Virginia's odds are now +1700, followed by Pitt at +1900, and Clemson now has the seventh-highest odds at +3300, according to FanDuel.
The Cardinals' schedule is lining up as a very favorable path, and with Clemson losing by 41, it certainly feels like this could be the year Brohm returns to Charlotte. Louisville, of course, has to take care of business and win games in November and find a way to beat SMU for the first time, but with Louisville not having to play Miami or Virginia and getting SMU and Pitt at home, this feels like it could be Brohm and Louisville’s year.
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