Louisville Aiming to Maintain Focus Amid Race to Clinch ACC Championship Berth

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Over the course of this past offseason, one of the plethora of storylines surrounding the Louisville football season was that there was an outside chance to make the ACC Championship. Between a perceived easy schedule, the top portal class in college football and Jeff Brohm's prowess as a head coach, many local and national pundits tabbed the Cardinals as a dark horse to get to Charlotte, N.C.

With the 2023 college football regular season now two-thirds of the way home, the team that was declared a dark horse in the preseason now controls their own destiny.

Louisville currently sports a 7-1 overall record with four games left to go, and a 4-1 mark in ACC play with three conference games remaining, sitting at second in the ACC standings behind only undefeated Florida State. Under the ACC's new division-less format, the top two teams by conference winning percentage advance to the ACC Championship.

The path is simple: if Louisville wins their next three games - vs. Virginia Tech, vs. Virginia and at Miami - they will be heading to Charlotte. A goal that seemed a tad lofty just a few months ago is very much on the table.

Of course, the prospect of reaching their first ACC Championship since joining the conference has generated an enormous amount of attention and buzz surrounding the program, both at a local and national level. That being said, Louisville is attempting to block out all this additional noise and remain focused on their immediate task at hand: Virginia Tech.

“I don’t think it’s too complicated. We’re blocking everything else out until the next game," head coach Jeff Brohm said. "Looking at anything other than the next game as a team and as coaches can get you in trouble. I’ve been burned enough times and I’m sure others have as well. It’s as simple as let’s improve this week, get better, and try to go win this next football game. I think looking at whatever happens at the end is great when the season is over, but until then it is how do we find a way to beat Virginia Tech.”

Louisville already knows firsthand the importance of staying focused amid an increased amount of attention. The only reason that the Cardinals aren't tied with the Seminoles at the top of the ACC leaderboard is because, on the heels of taking down Notre Dame and becoming the talk of the college football world, Louisville promptly followed that up with a stunning loss at Pitt.

Plus, while a loss in any of their three remaining games could potentially derail their attempt to get to Charlotte, a loss to Virginia Tech could serve as the kill shot. While the Hokies sit at 4-4 on the year and opened up their season at 1-3, they have turned it on since transitioning to ACC play. At 3-1 in league games, VT currently sits at third in the standings right behind Louisville. Should the Hokies win this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST, they will jump the Cardinals in the standings.

Within the confines of the Howard Schnellenberger Complex and the Trager Center, Louisville is continuing to operate with a "one-game season" mentality like they have all season. Sure, they are aware of the fact they control their own destiny, and that the hype and buzz surrounding them only grows by the minute. But they are striving to not let the growing praise and "what if?'s consume them

"It's out there, it's kind of in the back of everyone's mind. But the forefront is it's a one game season," offensive tackle Eric Miller said. "Like Coach Brohm, like everyone's talked about all season, we have that mentality of 'Virginia Tech is the only game on our schedule right now.' We're not really concerned with other things.

"If people on social media want to forecast and all, that's great, but in this building we're concerned about playing Virginia Tech and doing what we have to to win on Saturday. Because we've seen what's happened when maybe we have some letdowns. We're trying to avoid that, just have a good week of practice, and going in on Saturday and have another great opportunity."

(Photo of Trey Franklin: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter