Louisville Football Bowl Projections: 2025 Week 5

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One month into the season, the Louisville football program continues to have a perfect record. While the Cardinals are probably several weeks away from being considered a College Football Playoff caliber team, a bowl game is all but assured at this point.

Early on, there wasn't much consensus as to where Louisville would be heading for the postseason. But of the 10 updated bowl projections, five of them have the Cards heading to the Gator Bowl. Both the Holiday and Pinstripe Bowls got multiple picks as well.

As a reminder, the ACC utilizes a system where they organize bowls with conference tie-ins into two tiers, but there is no selection order within each tier. The league and their bowl partners "will make team selections based on several factors, including geographic proximity, avoiding repeat appearances and matchups, and regular-season won-loss records," according to the ACC's official website.

The Cardinals will officially learn their postseason draw on Sunday, Dec. 7, following the end of conference championship weekend. The College Football Playoff selection show begins at 12:00 p.m. that day, and Louisville will learn their bowl shortly after.

With four weeks of college football now in the rear view mirror, here are bowl projections for Louisville across various publications:

Sports Illustrated

Projector: Bryan Fischer
Bowl/Matchup: Duke's Mayo Bowl vs. Missouri
Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Date/Time: Friday, Jan, 2 at 8:00 p.m. EST

ESPN

Projector: Kyle Bonagura
Bowl/Matchup: Gator Bowl vs. Alabama
Location: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec., 27 at 7:30 p.m. EST

Projector: Mark Schlabach
Bowl/Matchup: Holiday Bowl vs. Arizona State
Location: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
Date/Time: Friday, Jan., 2 at 8:00 p.m. EST

247Sports/CBS

Projector: Brad Crawford
Bowl/Matchup: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Iowa
Location: Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y.
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec., 27 at 12:00 p.m. EST

Athlon Sports

Projector: Steve Lassan
Bowl/Matchup: Pinstripe Bowl vs. Iowa
Location: Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y.
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec., 27 at 12:00 p.m. EST

College Football News

Projector: Pete Fiutak
Bowl/Matchup: Holiday Bowl vs. Arizona State
Location: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
Date/Time: Friday, Jan., 2 at 8:00 p.m. EST

On3

Projector: Brett McMurphy
Bowl/Matchup: Gator Bowl vs. Vanderbilt
Location: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec., 27 at 7:30 p.m. EST

Palm Brackets

Projector: Jerry Palm
Bowl/Matchup: Gator Bowl vs. Missouri
Location: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec., 27 at 7:30 p.m. EST

USA TODAY

Projector: Erick Smith
Bowl/Matchup: Gator Bowl vs. Tennessee
Location: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec., 27 at 7:30 p.m. EST

Sporting News

Awaiting updated picks.

Pro Football Network

Projector: Oliver Hodgkinson
Bowl/Matchup: Gator Bowl vs. Tennessee
Location: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec., 27 at 7:30 p.m. EST