Louisville’s win over nationally ranked SMU did more than give the Cardinals a second straight victory. It also pushed them up the latest ESPN Football Power Index, where Jeff Brohm’s team now checks in at No. 23 after climbing five spots.
That ranking sits in the middle of a busy week for Louisville, which is set to host Wake Forest at L&N Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 12:00 p.m. The Demon Deacons arrive at 2-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play after a 33-20 home loss to No. 6 Miami.
The FPI matchup forecast points firmly toward Louisville. ESPN’s predictor gives the Cardinals an 80.1% chance to win, while Wake Forest comes in at No. 54 in the updated rankings.
At the top of the national picture, ESPN’s FPI has Ohio State just ahead of Texas, with Georgia, Notre Dame and Indiana rounding out the top five. Texas owns the highest national championship win percentage at 17.6%.
Within the ACC, Miami leads the way in the FPI, followed by Louisville, Pittsburgh, SMU and Virginia.
ESPN describes the Football Power Index as a tool built to forecast how teams will perform the rest of the way, measuring how many points above or below average a team is. Its projections come from 20,000 simulations of the remainder of the season using FPI, results already in the books and the rest of the schedule. The ratings update daily.
Louisville’s remaining strength of schedule is No. 66, according to the FPI, and the model gives the Cardinals a 97.1% chance of reaching at least six wins.
Here’s the game-by-game look from the FPI:
Sept. 6 vs Ole Miss (Nashville, Tenn.)
ESPN FPI Predicted Winner: Ole Miss
Predictor: 69.1%
Opponent FPI Rank: 14
Opponent W/L Projection: 7-5
OUTCOME: Ole Miss win, 41-38, on last-second field goal
Louisville is now 0-2 all-time vs Ole Miss.
In Other News...
Louisville Has Two Big Concerns Despite Its ACC Statement Win
Louisvilles win over SMU gave Jeff Brohm and the Cardinals the kind of statement result that can change the tone of an ACC season, but it did not erase the lingering issues that have followed the team through the first stretch of conference play. Brohm made clear the job now is to build on that performance and keep tightening the operation, with a home matchup against Wake Forest next up on the schedule.
The concern is less about the scoreboard than the details Louisville can still clean up. Penalties have been a problem for both teams, and the Cardinals also need to keep an eye on Isaac Brown, whose knee injury has limited him at times even though he was a full participant against SMU. For a team trying to turn one quality win into momentum, the health and discipline pieces may matter just as much as the rsum boost. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Got A Big Reminder What That LSU Win Means
Louisvilles weekend win over SMU was one of the most significant results in college football, even in a slate packed with eye-catching scorelines and conference shakeups. It fit a broader picture that is still taking shape across the sport, from Trinidad Chambliss turning heads against LSU to USCs defensive issues in its Big Ten opener at Rutgers, but the Cardinals performance stood out because it carried real weight in the league race.
For Louisville, the victory also sharpened the conversation about what kind of team it might be turning into as the season develops. The early-season board is already crowded with teams trying to define themselves, and the Cardinals have at least put themselves in the mix with a result that will matter when the conference picture gets tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Jeff Brohm Sees Something Bigger In Tyler Shough's Fast NFL Start
Tyler Shoughs fast start with the New Orleans Saints has already turned into a point of pride for Louisville, where Jeff Brohm has watched the former Cardinal settle in quickly at the next level. In a Week 2 win over Baltimore, Shough showed the kind of efficiency and poise that made him an intriguing pro prospect, completing 27 of 34 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns while guiding New Orleans to a 24-17 victory.
For Brohm, the early success is about more than one strong Sunday. It reflects the growth Shough showed in college and the way he has carried that development into the NFL, where the Saints have found a quarterback who is making defenses adjust right away. The numbers have been eye-opening through two weeks, and for Louisville fans, the encouraging part is that this feels less like a surprise than the continuation of a steady rise. [Read more 🡒]