Way-Too-Early Louisville Football 2026 Season Projection

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The summer months are here, and the countdown to kickoff has officially begun.

We're now 94 days away from the Cardinals' season opener against Ole Miss in Nashville, Tenn. on Sunday, Sept. 6. There's still a lot that can transpire between now and then, especially once fall camp gets underway, but following the conclusion of our way-too-early preview series, Louisville Cardinals On SI decided to take a shot at giving a way-too-early prediction at Louisville's record for the 2026 football season.

Take a look below at our game-by-game predictions, along with a final season win-loss record:

Ole Miss (Sunday, Sept. 6)

Quick Hit: Louisville opens the season with their hardest matchup of the entire season. While Brohm has certainly made a name for himself in big games over the years, and Pete Golding is taking the reigns as the permanent head coach, Ole Miss is still extremely deadly. Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy are the best QB/RB duo in the sport, and the Rebels have just enough talent on defense to keep up. This should be an extremely competitive matchup, but it's one where I have Louisville coming up short.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Ole Miss here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Ole Miss 31, Louisville 28

Villanova (Friday, Sept. 11)

Quick Hit: On one hand, Villanova was one of the best teams at the FCS level last season. On the other, they still were soundly defeated in their lone matchup vs. an FBS game last season. Not to mention their quarterback situation is up in the air and they lose a lot of defensive production. This should be an easy bounce back win for Louisville.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Villanova here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 52, Villanova 7.

SMU (Saturday, Sept. 19)

Quick Hit: SMU has given Louisville headaches over their first two seasons in the ACC. It doesn't help that quarterback Kevin Jennings is running it back for one more season, but on the other side of the line of scrimmage on defense, the Mustangs have a ton of questions after losing a lot of production. This game has shootout written all over it, but it's one where I believe the Cardinals finally get win No. 1 in this series.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of SMU here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 35, SMU 31

Wake Forest (Saturday, Sept. 26)

Quick Hit: Considering that Jake Dickert guided Wake Forest to a nine-win season in year one last season, and Louisville plays their two most difficult games in the first three weeks, this has potential trap game written all over it. While the Demon Deacons have a solid defense, their offense has way too many questions. This alone should help carry Louisville to a somewhat convincing win.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Wake Forest here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 28, Wake Forest 17.

at NC State (Saturday, Oct. 3)

Quick Hit: Don't get me wrong - Carter-Finley Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the ACC, especially for your first true road game of the season. NC State has some playmakers on offense, namely C.J. Bailey, but their defense is going to be far, far from what we have typically expected under Dave Doeren. I'm going to go with Louisville here for that reason alone

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of NC State here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 27, NC State 17

Florida State (Friday, Oct. 9)

Quick Hit: On paper, Florida State has a good team. They have a stout rushing attack, as well as a myriad of talent on defense. However... the Mike Norvell factor has to come into play here. Honestly, there's a world in which he doesn't even make it to this game due to FSU's brutal schedule beforehand. Regardless, Louisville gets the slight nod here.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Florida State here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 28, Florida State 24.

at Syracuse (Saturday, Oct. 17)

Quick Hit: Syracuse could either be really good or repeat their 2025 campaign. It all depends on the health of QB Steve Angeli, who was rolling last season before suffering an Achilles injury. If he is 100 percent, and if the Orange can get better in the secondary, this could be a hairy matchup - especially with it being at the Dome. I'm picking Louisville, but this game could be closer than people think.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Syracuse here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 31, Syracuse 28

Stanford (Saturday, Oct. 31)

Quick Hit: Stanford was able to stun Louisville back in 2024, but I would be surprised if they did it again this year. They might have the worst offense in the ACC, and while they return a good amount of their defense for year one under Tavita Pritchard, it wasn't exactly a formidable unit. The Cardinals is in a completely different class than the Cardinal with no 'S,' and with this game at home, it should be an easy win.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Stanford here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 35, Stanford 17.

at Georgia Tech (Saturday, Nov. 7)

Quick Hit: Georgia Tech will look a lot different after losing both QB Haynes King and OC Buster Faulkner. But while the Yellow Jackets will likely take a step back, Brent Key's squad will still be formidable. At minimum, they will have fantastic play in the trenches on both sides of the ball. If Albert Mendoza is somewhat serviceable and the secondary takes a step forward, GT very much has the potential to upset Louisville. In fact, with this being on the road, that's what I'm projecting to happen.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Georgia Tech here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Georgia Tech 28, Louisville 24.

at North Carolina (Saturday, Nov. 14)

Quick Hit: North Carolina had a ghastly start to the Bill Belichick era last season, but they could be in line for a bounce back season, and not just because they added Bobby Petrino. Louisville has to go to Chapel Hill for this matchup against a Tar Heels squad that has good starting talent, but very much has depth questions. With this game being so late in the season, depth is likely going to be tested, to which this favors the Cardinals.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of North Carolina here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 31, North Carolina 24.

Pitt (Saturday, Nov. 21)

Quick Hit: Louisville has had some outright battles with Pitt over the last few years, and it's likely going to be the same this season. QB Mason Heintschel will lead what should be a good offense, while defense - despite losing several top playmakers - should still be solid. While Pat Narduzzi's bunch has given the Cardinals fits in the Steel City, the home field factor should play a massive role in the final game at L&N Stadium of the season.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Pitt here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 34, Pitt 21.

at Kentucky (Saturday, Nov. 28)

Quick Hit: Year one under Will Stein for Kentucky has the potential to be very good by their standards, but also the chance to be extremely bumpy. Their offense has some playmakers, but is relying a lot on Qb Kenny Minchey's abilities and health at running back. Plus, their defense is putting faith in a lot of guys to make progress in new and bigger roles. This could wind up being a tough battle, especially in Lexington, but I'm projecting Louisville to win their third straight Governor's Cup.

Read our full Way-Too-Early breakdown of Kentucky here.

Way-Too-Early Prediction: Louisville 35, Kentucky 28.

Way-Too-Early Season Projection: 10-2 (7-1 ACC)

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