Louisville football enters the 2025 season with several national media outlets projecting the Cardinals to compete in a postseason bowl game. The team, led by head coach Jeff Brohm, is set to open its season against Eastern Kentucky in just over a week.
According to consensus preseason projections, the Cardinals are expected to finish the regular season with a record around nine wins and three losses. Multiple sources provide varying predictions for Louisville’s bowl destination. On3 and Brett McMurphy predict an appearance in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida, facing Texas Tech. ESPN presents two possibilities: Kyle Bonagura lists Louisville in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina against South Carolina, while Mark Schlabach agrees with the Pop-Tarts Bowl projection against Texas Tech.
CBS also predicts Louisville will play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, but with Missouri as their opponent. Athlon Sports projects Louisville for the Pop-Tarts Bowl versus Baylor. Meanwhile, 247Sports offers a different scenario: a Gator Bowl matchup with Oklahoma.
Individual analyst Danny Kanell puts forward a more ambitious outlook, suggesting Louisville could reach the College Football Playoff as the No. 9 seed and face No. 9 Georgia.
Within local coverage, Cardinal Sports projects a nine-win season for Louisville—with predicted losses at Pittsburgh, SMU, and at home versus Clemson—and places them again in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against Oklahoma.
Overall media sentiment suggests that while some see Louisville as potential playoff contenders or “sleepers,” most rank them as third or fourth among Atlantic Coast Conference teams likely heading to one of college football’s higher-tier bowl games.
