Greg McElroy isn’t treating Louisville like a standard Week 1 underdog.
With the Cardinals set for a 7:30 p.m. local-time kickoff against No. 9 Ole Miss, ESPN’s college football analyst made it clear on Pat McAfee’s show that Jeff Brohm’s team is the kind of group that can ruin a favorite’s night. Louisville enters the matchup as a 6.5-point underdog, but McElroy pushed back on the idea that the Rebels should feel comfortable.
“Dude, I am telling you Louisville is so dangerous, guys,” stated McElroy. “This guy is a giant killer and has been for years.
Each of the first three years where he has been at Louisville, he has knocked off an AP top-10 team, including going on the road and beating Miami on a Friday night last year. So, this is a guy who can certainly rally his team around the idea of an upset.”
That warning lands at a time when Louisville is carrying real momentum into the season. The Cardinals are ranked for the first time since 2017 and have a chance to make an early move in both the AP Poll and the broader College Football Playoff conversation. In a conference previewed around teams like Miami and SMU, Louisville is sitting in the dark-horse lane - but one big win would change that conversation fast.
Brohm’s track record is exactly why McElroy sounded the alarm. At Purdue, Brohm picked off elite teams like No.
2 Ohio State, No. 2 Iowa and No.
3 Michigan State. Since arriving at Louisville, he has added wins over No.
10 Notre Dame, No. 11 Clemson and No.
2 Miami.
That résumé is what makes this opener feel bigger than a normal nonconference test. Louisville has the coach, the ranking and the opportunity. Now it gets a chance to back up the buzz against Ole Miss and see whether the Cardinals really can turn Week 1 into a statement.
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Louisville May Get More Than Depth From This SEC Safety
TJ Banks arrives in Louisville with the kind of SEC background that tends to draw a little extra attention in the secondary. The junior defensive back from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, came out of high school as a recruit with plenty of options and ultimately landed at Ole Miss, where he first carved out a role on special teams before seeing his defensive workload grow in 2025, mostly at free safety.
For the Cardinals, the appeal goes beyond simple depth. Banks is expected to factor into the safety rotation, which gives Louisville another experienced body to lean on in the back end, but it also creates a subtle bonus for a staff always looking for any edge it can find. Having spent time in an SEC defense, Banks could also bring some useful familiarity with how Ole Miss has gone about things on that side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Isaac Ellis Could Give Louisville A Freshman Spark Sooner Than Expected
Isaac Ellis has already become one of the more intriguing names in Louisvilles freshman class, and not just because of the buzz that tends to follow a guard who can score, defend and make plays. The 6-foot-1 freshman arrives with a reputation built at Overtime Elite, where his competitiveness and two-way impact helped him stand out, and Louisville coaches and players have been quick to point to the edge he brings as he gets his first look at college basketball.
For the Cardinals, the appeal is obvious: Ellis fits the kind of high-energy, disruptive guard play that can matter quickly if he adapts as expected. His path to campus also came earlier than originally planned, which only adds to the intrigue around how soon he might push for real minutes. Louisville does not need him to be a finished product right away, but if his practice habits translate, he could be the type of freshman who forces his way into the conversation sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Has A Real Shot To Make A Week 1 Statement
No. 24 Louisville heads into Week 1 with a chance to make an immediate national impression against No. 9 Ole Miss, and the setup is as intriguing on the field as it is on the betting board. The Cardinals bring back the kind of continuity that matters in early-season games, including a steady roster base and coaching stability, while the Rebels arrive with plenty of their own talent and the usual SEC hype that tends to follow them into a matchup like this.
The defensive side could be the quiet separator here, especially in a game where both teams are still ironing out early-season timing and rhythm. Louisville has the profile of a team built to hang around and maybe do more than that, which is why this opener carries a little more weight than a standard September test. If the Cardinals can match Ole Miss possession for possession, it could become one of those rare Week 1 games that tells you something real about both programs right away. [Read more 🡒]