Why Louisville football fans shouldn't expect a drop-off from last season

The Louisville football team played for the ACC Championship a year ago. Had they not been upset by Kentucky in the final regular season game of the year, they could have been playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Still, a 10-4 record in the first year of a new head coach is very impressive.

This is now year two under Jeff Brohm. He brings back a team that will have to replace some key starters on offense, including his quarterback. That's one of the reasons why the ACC media doesn't seem to have faith in the Cardinals. Still, fans shouldn't expect too much of a drop-off this season.

One of the reasons is that Brohm will have another season to get his offense implemented. The players are going to be more comfortable running his system. His second year at Purdue is also when he helped his team pull that legendary upset against Ohio State and knock them out of national championship contention.

The expanded 12-team Playoff also should give Louisville football fans some hope. Had that been in place last year, that ACC Championship would have been a de-facto playoff game for them. The Cardinals have more to play for now that they know they can get into the playoff without winning the conference.

We're going to find out fairly early on if the Cardinals are going to be good enough to compete for a conference championship. They play in South Bend on Septemeber 28th in what will be their first test of the season. If they can win that game, they become real CFP contenders.

Louisville only threw for 236 yards per game last season. That should increase with the weapons that they have. I expect Chris Bell to be a bigger part of the passing game than he was a season ago. This offense should be more dangerous in general through the air.