Louisville’s slide kept going in Week 6, and the Cardinals are now staring at a spot well outside the ACC’s upper tier.
What looked before the season like a team built to chase the ACC Championship Game - and maybe even crash the College Football Playoff conversation - has not played out that way. Jeff Brohm brought in a top-five transfer portal class and got back key starters, including preseason All-American Isaac Brown, but Louisville has hit a rough patch instead. The Cardinals have dropped three of their last five, and all three losses have come by three points, adding up to a combined nine-point margin.
That latest close defeat pushed Louisville down again in the ACC power rankings, where the Cardinals now sit at No. 11. Brohm has plenty to sort through, especially on defense, and the rankings reflect just how far Louisville has fallen after opening the year with bigger expectations.
At the top, Miami has separated itself from the pack. The Hurricanes strengthened that case with a 41-13 rout of Clemson in Death Valley, making it clear the league runs through them right now.
Behind Miami, SMU holds the No. 2 spot, with Duke at No. 3 and Wake Forest at No. 4.
Pittsburgh comes in at No. 5 after surviving Virginia Tech in a Friday night matchup of undefeated teams. The Panthers won when the Hokies missed a game-winning field goal, but there’s a catch: starting quarterback Mason Heintschel suffered a season-ending injury, which keeps Pitt from climbing any higher.
Virginia Tech checks in at No. 6, followed by Florida State at No. 7.
The Seminoles made the biggest jump in the rankings, moving all the way up from No. 16 after their dominant win over Virginia. Virginia lands at No.
8, Clemson at No. 9, and North Carolina State at No. 10, just ahead of Louisville.
North Carolina sits at No. 12, with Syracuse at No. 13, Boston College at No.
14, Cal at No. 15, Stanford at No. 16, and Georgia Tech at No.
The bottom group also tells part of the story. Stanford was thumped 57-3 by Wake Forest, which helps explain why the Demon Deacons keep climbing while the Cardinal keep slipping.
Stanford’s earlier win over Georgia Tech is the reason those two teams are flipped in the order, with the Yellow Jackets still at No. 17 and Stanford just above them at No. 16.
Cal is coming off a loss to UNLV, while Boston College lost by nine and stayed competitive against SMU.
After five weeks, Miami looks like the clear team to beat in the ACC. Wake Forest has put itself in the contender conversation, and Duke deserves attention too after quietly getting to 4-0.
Louisville gets its next chance to stop the slide on Friday night against Florida State at L&N Stadium. The Cardinals are trying to get back to 3-3, while the Seminoles come in off their 38-7 win over Virginia. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. local time.
In Other News...
Pat Kelsey Sees Two Louisville Strengths That Could Change Everything
At the 2026 ACC Tipoff breakout session, Pat Kelsey gave a familiar pitch for what could make this Louisville roster different. The Cardinals coach pointed to the blend of pace and shooting he wants to keep at the center of the offense, while also highlighting a couple of defensive pieces that fit the way he wants this team to play.
One of those pieces is guard De'Shayne Montgomery, whose defensive instincts drew Kelseys attention, and another is forward Flory Bidunga, whose presence around the rim already gives Louisville a different kind of backbone. Kelsey also noted Bidungas ability to help create for others, an important wrinkle for a team trying to play fast without losing structure as it settles into the season. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Secondary Keeps Getting Exposed For One Frustrating Reason
Louisvilles secondary spent too much of its recent game chasing rather than dictating, and the common thread was zone coverage. Motion from NC State kept forcing the Cardinals to sort out responsibilities on the fly, which made the back end look hesitant and out of sync. Ben Perry was among the defenders caught in the middle of those breakdowns, and the larger issue was less about effort than about communication and recognition in a scheme that demands both.
The frustration for Louisville is that these werent isolated mistakes so much as repeated problems once the ball was snapped and routes started unfolding. Even with pressure showing up at times, per PFF, the Cardinals could not consistently clean up the coverage behind it, leaving openings on plays that should have been manageable. Until the secondary gets sharper about who takes whom when offenses move receivers around, the same leaks are likely to keep showing up. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Recruiting Buzz Comes With One Growing Flip Fear
Louisvilles recruiting momentum has been building across both major sports, with the basketball staff reaching out to multiple five-star prospects in the 2027 class and the broader program sentiment looking up after a strong offseason. Among the names drawing the most attention is DeMarcus Henry, a top-five national recruit whose stock has made him one of the premier targets on the Cardinals board.
Henry has emerged as a particularly important priority as Louisville tries to stay in the mix for a November decision, and the Cardinals have positioned themselves well in a race that appears to keep shifting. On the football side, four-star recruit Ja'Hyde Brown is also attracting a growing list of suitors as his ranking climbs, adding to a busy stretch in which Louisvilles recruiting profile is rising even as the competition around it gets louder. [Read more 🡒]