Louisville Football Among Betting Favorites to Win 2026 ACC Championship

The Cardinals are generating a lot of hype ahead of year four under Jeff Brohm.

Sep 27, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm (right) leads the team onto the field to play the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - We might still have an entire summer's worth of time ahead of us, but the return of college football will be here sooner than we realize. Before we know it, the 2026 season will be here, and Louisville will be kicking off year four under head coach Jeff Brohm with their neutral-site matchup with Ole Miss in Nashville, Tenn.

Louisville is a few years removed from making their ACC Championship Game debut in Brohm's first year, but many in the college football world are high on the Cardinals' chances to get back to Charlotte. Not only that, but the major sports books also believe they could be a major player in the ACC.

As of May 5, Caesars has Louisville tied with SMU for the second-best odds to win the conference, while Bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel all have them with the third-best odds.

Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel are the highest on the Cardinals to win the ACC Championship, as they are currently sitting at +800. BetMGM has Louisville at +900, while Bet365 has them at +1100.

While Louisville hasn't made a return trip to the ACC Championship Game since their 2023 debut, they are still coming off of a successful 2025 campaign. The Cardinals went 9-4 overall, including a 4-4 mark in ACC regular season play and a 27-22 win over Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. They've won at least nine games in all three seasons under Brohm, doing so for the first time since 2012-14.

In both the immediate aftermatch of the 2025 season and following the closing of the transfer portal window, many tabbed Louisville not only as a potential player in the ACC, but one who could make a run to the College Football Playoff. There's a good reason as to why many are so high on the Cardinals heading into the 2026 season.

For starters, the vast majority of Louisville's top playmakers from last season who still have eligibility remaining are running it back. This includes running backs Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown, edge rushers Clev Lubin and A.J. green, linebackers Stanquan Clark and Antonio Watts, cornerback Tayon Holloway, and other.

On top of that, the Cardinals did one of the best jobs in the sport at navigating the portal, posting the No. 4 transfer class according to On3. Not only did they mitigate significant losses, they brought in impact transfers like Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, Vanderbilt wide receiver Tre Richardson, UNC edge rusher Tyler Thompson, Tulsa tight end Brody Foley, Iowa safety Koen Entringer and more.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 

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(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Charles LeClaire - Imagn Images)