Last week, the ACC held its official media day for all ACC football programs. The event took place in Charlotte, N.C, and after every conference finishes their media days, they take a poll to see what the media thinks the conference will look like when the season concludes.
Well, the 2025 ACC preseason media poll was just released, and the Louisville football fans are taking a brief look at it and immediately walking away, either angry or laughing. Jeff Brohm and the Cardinals are thought to be the No. 3 best team in the conference, as the consensus No. 1 team is Clemson, and the No. 2 team is Miami.
While many believe Louisville comes in at No. 3, it appears the media disagrees. They are dropping them to No. 5. Louisville fans are outraged by this ultimate disrespect, and while they have every right to be, there might be a realistic reason as to why they are put at No. 5.
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The glaring truth behind Louisville's disrespect in ACC Preseason Media Poll
The Cardinals are going to have the best running back group in the ACC, as Preseason All-American Isaac Brown and elite sophomore Duke Watson will lead them. They gained Miller Moss to be Brohm's next elite transfer quarterback, and on the outside, they have elite weapons.
However, the glaring truth behind the Cardinals being projected to finish No. 5 in the ACC isn't necessarily about the rosters but more about the schedule. Rounding out the top five in the preseason media poll and coming ahead of Louisville are No. 3 SMU and No. 4 Georgia Tech.
NEW: 2025 College Football ACC Preseason Media Poll👀
— On3 (@On3sports) July 30, 2025
Do you agree? 🤔https://t.co/fN9y2BSjY8 pic.twitter.com/hlU0OEvnf1
Recently, ESPN's Greg McElroy put these three teams in his College Football Playoff contenders, indicating they are the next group behind Miami and Clemson. However, Louisville dropping behind Georgia Tech is quite surprising, making the fans vocally upset.
But when fans dive deeper into it and not just compare rosters, the silver lining has to be the schedule. When looking at the three teams' schedules, it is obvious that Louisville's schedule is much more challenging.
The Cardinals have to travel to Pitt, Miami, Virginia Tech, and SMU this season while also hosting Boston College and Clemson. When looking at the SMU schedule, they obviously host Louisville and Miami, and their only tough matchups on the road are against Clemson and Boston College.
Then, when fans look at Georgia Tech's schedule, the difference in difficulty between the Yellow Jackets and the Cardinals is almost laughable. They host Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Pitt, and the toughest game on the road is against Boston College. Georgia Tech won't have to play Miami or SMU this year and get three of its four toughest ACC matchups at home.
So, while it stings to see Louisville come in projected to finish No. 5 in the ACC, the unfortunate truth is it might not be completely unrealistic. The Cardinals should finish higher than fifth, but the thought behind this ACC preseason media poll has to be that they thought about everyone's schedule and came to the conclusion that the Cardinals have a higher chance of slipping up with their gauntlet of a schedule, rather than Georgia Tech and SMU with their much more manageable schedule.
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