USA TODAY Underslots Louisville in Post-Spring FBS Re-Rank

The Cardinals head into the 2026 season with high expectations.

Sep 27, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Isaac Brown (1) leads teammates onto the field against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The calendar might be about to flip to May, but college football Saturdays will get here quicker than you realize.

For Louisville, their 2026 campaign - which will mark year four under head coach Jeff Brohm - is one that carries a lot expectations both at the local and national level. They've routinely been in way-too-early top 25 preseason rankings, have received favorable odds for the ACC Championship, and have even been tabbed as a potential dark horse to make the College Football Playoff.

But if you ask USA TODAY, they believe that the offseason/preseason hype surrounding Louisville is a tad unwarranted.

Earlier this week, the publication released their post-spring re-ranking of all 138 teams that operate at the FBS level. Ohio State took the No. 1 spot, with Notre Dame, Texas, Georgia and reigning champion Indiana rounding out the top five.

So where does Louisville come into the picture here? Well, USA TODAY not only does not have the Cardinals in the top 25 of their, they're barely in the top-40, with UofL getting placed at No. 40 overall. This is puts them at just eighth in the ACC, behind Miami (8th), SMU (15th), Clemson (27th), Florida State (29th), Virginia (30th), Duke (33rd) and Georgia Tech (36th).

It's at least understandable to have Miami and SMU ahead of Louisville. After all, the Hurricanes made the national championship game this past season, the Mustangs have had the Cardinals' number since they joined the ACC. But to tab UofL as essentially a middle of the pack caliber team in the conference is fairly surprising.

For starters, Louisville is bringing most back most of their top performers from last season that still have eligibility remaining. This includes running back Isaac Brown, edge rushers Clev Lubin and A.J. Brown, linebackers Stanquan Clark and Antonio Watts, plus cornerback Tayon Holloway.

On top of that, the Cardinals did a phenomenal job of navigating the transfer portal. While Louisville lost 30 players to the portal, they countered that bringing in 33 transfers - several of which are high-profile. This includes Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, Vanderbilt wide receiver Tre Richardson, UNC edge rusher Tyler Thompson, Tulsa tight end Brody Foley and Iowa safety Koen Entringer.

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(Photo of Isaac Brown: Charles LeClaire - Imagn Images)