Jeff Brohm and his Louisville football team will take on Mario Cristobal's Miami Hurricanes in a Friday night matchup, in a game where Louisville will be looking to take on the No. 2-ranked team in the country. The Cardinals enter this game 4-1 after dropping a heartbreaking loss to Virginia, while Miami is a perfect 5-0 with an impressive resume of three wins over ranked teams.
Every expert and analyst is picking the Miami Hurricanes in this game, and the majority are even picking Miami to cover. However, there is one glaring reason why the Cardinals not only have a chance to cover the spread and keep this game close, but also why they will win this game.
Why the Louisville Cardinals will upset the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes
Miami has had a nearly flawless season so far, however, the Hurricanes have had trouble in the past, often throwing away games for no apparent reason, and that has mainly been due to time-clock management issues under Cristobal.
The one that always comes to mind is when Miami threw the game away against Georgia Tech at home. Cristobal could have told the team to take a knee and win, but for some reason, he called a run play where Miami then fumbled the ball. Georgia Tech recovered the ball, threw for a long touchdown, and won the game 28-23.
And the track history doesn't stop there. Later in the season, the Hurricanes still had a chance to make the College Football Playoffs with a 10-1 record, but Miami choked once again and fell to Syracuse in their last game of the season, 42-38, causing them to miss the CFP.
Entering the 2025 season, many fans and experts held Miami in high regard, but the prevailing narrative was which game would they lose that they should win? It has become part of their narrative to assume Cristobal is going to drop a game, and many have circled this Cardinals game as a top candidate on which he will fall. Cristobal has yet to lose a game this season, and what better opportunity than to blow a game on a Friday night against Louisville?
Another aspect of this game that fans should consider is how Jeff Brohm has consistently motivated his teams for big, ranked games. Brohm has played every ranked game at Louisville close and has won more often than not. Even at Purdue, he did this, especially when he dismantled No. 2 Ohio State at home.
If Louisville wants to win this game, it will have to play its best game this season on both sides of the ball. This game will come down to how good Louisville plays down the stretch, and it will need Miami to make mistakes they have not made very often this season. Miller Moss and the offense have to score points and keep it close to give them a shot at the end of the game, while this defense has to find a way to put pressure on Carson Beck and win the turnover battle.
Louisville must play its best game of the season if it wants a chance to win this game, and with Cristobal as the head coach, the Cardinals fans are confident that this is one they can shock the nation with.
Related: Why Carson Beck is going to get crushed by the Louisville defense
Louisville and Miami will kick off this Friday at 7:00 p.m. local time from Hard Rock Stadium.