The month of August is here, which means college football is just around the corner. Louisville football had an incredibly busy offseason, as Jeff Brohm added over 32 transfers from the Transfer Portal, while also having to recruit from within and avoid nightmare scenarios.
Brohm secured a top-five Transfer Portal class in the nation, as On3 Sports was high on the multiple 4-stars Louisville brought in, but also on Brohm’s ability to keep key starters like Isaac Brown, AJ Green, Stanquan Clark, TJ Capers, Keyjuan Brown, and others.
With the month of August here and college football’s 2026 season quickly approaching, the Cardinals just got the first taste of disrespect. The college football preseason Coaches Poll was just announced today, and Louisville was blatantly snubbed.
Louisville football unranked in first Coaches Poll
The Cardinals were trending as a likely lock to be ranked in the first preseason poll, as UofL was ranked in the majority of everyone’s way-too-early rankings. However, the Coaches Poll somehow disagreed. Louisville will enter the 2026 season unranked in the Coaches Poll, leaving the Cardinals fans in total shock.
BREAKING: College Football Preseason Coaches Poll👀https://t.co/gnEe967fmH pic.twitter.com/W2xBYGZWYe
— On3 (@On3) August 4, 2026
The Cardinals have the third-highest odds to win the ACC and are trending as a legitimate ACC contender. Brohm has proven he can lead this team to win big-time games, and now it is time for him to use this complete disrespect to shock the nation again and to upset Ole Miss in Week 1.
Louisville has always been this program that flies under the radar and doesn’t get the attention it deserves. The Cards being unranked is bulletin board material for Brohm and should have this team fired up to make a massive statement against the Rebels in Tennessee on September 6.
Ole Miss rounds out the top 10 in the Coaches Poll preseason rankings, as Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels are ranked No. 10 in the nation for the Cardinals' Week 1 showdown. Ole Miss is coming off a historic 13-win season and a CFP semifinal run.
Now, the unranked Cardinals (according to the Coaches Poll) are given a golden opportunity to upset the No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels.
The Coaches Poll consists of the top 25 teams, and Louisville was the first team out. The Cardinals earned 153 votes, while the No. 25-ranked team, Missouri, earned just five more votes with 158. The Cardinals have a lot to prove this season as they are led by a new quarterback from Ohio State, Lincoln Kienholz, and new wide receivers in Lawayne McCoy and Tre Richardson, but they still have an explosive running back room in both Brown’s and an elite defensive line with Clev Lubin, Green, Tyler Thompson, and others.
The Cardinals have a real chance at returning to the ACC Championship game, and while the Coaches Poll didn’t respect them, the Cardinals' ceiling is bright.
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