College Football Analyst Tabs Louisville as CFP Sleeper Team

While the Louisville football program is heading into the 2025 season with some moderate expectations, the national media at large believes they are good, but maybe not great.

The Cardinals recently received votes in both the preseason Coaches Poll and Associated Press Top 25, but were unranked in both. UofL was also voted to finished fifth in the ACC, with Clemson, Miami, SMU and Georgia Tech in front of them.

While most of the national media thinks Louisville isn't a true contender as it pertains to the ACC and College Football Playoff races, Josh Pate thinks the opposite.

On a recent episode of his highly popular "Josh Pate's College Football Show," Pate was asked about teams who who could crash the CFP out of nowhere like Indiana and SMU did last season. Among the teams he named, Louisville was the very first one that came to mind.

"I think Louisville could crash the playoff party if everything goes right with them," he said. "I think I'm higher than most people on Miller Moss, I think they've got a sneaky good wide receiver group there. I implicitly trust Jeff Brohm to get the most out of offensive personnel. They've played the portal game, they get it. They understand team dynamics. They get Clemson at home on a Friday night, and they dominated them in Death Valley last year.

"They're a total portal mystery team. So there's a floor that's a little bit lower than I would like, but there's a ceiling that's pretty high. It just wouldn't shock me if you looked up in November, and they're a 10 win team. They could be that, their over/under win total is 8.5, but they could be that."

Last season, Louisville finished 9-4 overall and 5-3 in ACC play in head coach Jeff Brohm's second year at the helm. This included the Cardinals snapping losing streaks against both Clemson and Kentucky, and capturing a Sun Bowl win against Washington.

Despite losing players like Ashton Gillotte, Quincy Riley and Tyler Shough, Louisville is bringing back multiple impact playmakers, such as WR Chris Bell, RB Isaac Brown, LB Stanquan Clark, and several others. The Cardinals also bolstered their roster via the portal this offseason, bringing over pieces like USC QB Miller Moss and Coastal Carolina DE Clev Lubin.

Louisville will begin the 2025 season with an in-state FCS vs. FBS matchup, hosting Eastern Kentucky at L&N Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30 at 3:00 p.m.