Syracuse to host a reloaded Louisville team with championship aspirations

Editor's Note: During the summer, we're going to be doing a team-by-team preview of Syracuse football's 2026 opponents. Our last opponent preview was for Virginia, and we continue our series today with Syracuse's matchup against Louisville on Oct. 17.

Louisville is starting to build a study foundation of a program.

In his third season as head coach, Jeff Brohm recorded his third 9-win-or-better season. The Cardinals topped at 14 in the AP Poll but finished unranked, picking up a win in the Boca Raton Bowl against Toledo.

The expectations for Louisville are starting to grow, after making the ACC title game in his first season, Brohm has been on the precipice of great seasons for a few years now, and now is the time to make a go for it.

A look back at Louisville's 2025 season

The Cards were led by QB Mason Miller, who threw for 2,769 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Miller also ran for nine touchdowns.

Miller was not short on weapons as he had an effective duo of both running backs and wide receivers. RBs Keyjuan Brown and Isaac Brown combined for 13 touchdowns and 1,588 yards on the ground.

The air attack consisted of a combined effort from Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy who combined for eight touchdowns and 132 receptions. One the keys heading into the season was strengthening the front seven of the Cardinals, and they succeeded.

Defensive lineman Clev Lubin, Wesley Bailey, and Rene Konga proved trouble for opposing offenses as they allowed 21.2 points per game, 38th in the nation.

Previewing Louisville's 2026 season

The Cardinals stand at 26th in ESPN’s SP+ metric heading into the 2026 campaign, and they have positioned themselves to be a threat in the ACC once again.

They reeled in a transfer class good for third in the nation. They kicked off the transfer cycle with a commitment from Ohio State QB, Lincoln Kienholz, who will take leadership of the Cardinal offense.

They also added intriguing offensive weapons in FSU 4-star transfer Lawayne McCoy and Vanderbilt transfer Tre Richardson. The Cardinals have also completely revamped their O-line with four of the five starters being transfers.

The front seven on defense will look very similar to last season, however, the secondary gets retooled. Transfer Cornerback from Kentucky DJ Waller Jr, 4-star Safety from Iowa Koen Entringer, and Tennessee Safety Kaleb Beasley are all set to start in the secondary for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals got a little better everywhere on the field except QB. They will be relying on first-time starter, Kienholz who has just 36 pass attempts in the two seasons he's played in.

Prediction

The Cardinals got a little better everywhere on the field except QB. They will be relying on first-time starter, Kienholz who has just 36 pass attempts in the two seasons he's played in, and even then, there's plenty of upside.

Syracuse will put up a fight, but ultimately lose, 24-17.

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