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Last season for Louisville could probably be described as a “what if?” year.
The Cardinals had one of the best offenses in the country behind quarterback Tyler Shough, who wound up becoming a surprising second-round pick, but couldn’t quite find enough defense to turn their four close losses—all by one score—into enough wins to get back to the ACC championship game. Cathartic victories over in-state rival Kentucky, Pitt and what should have been a breakthrough at Clemson were marred by a handful of mistakes that cost the team against the likes of Notre Dame, SMU and Miami. Losing at Stanford late in the season as a 21-point favorite? Well, that was just plain inexplicable.
So they go again under Jeff Brohm, who has the program right back in a similar spot going into 2025 but will still likely be wondering about how a handful of new names out of the transfer portal are expected to keep the team hanging around as a potential conference contender.
Louisville is no stranger to new starting quarterback Miller Moss, who threw six touchdowns against the team in the Holiday Bowl two years ago while with USC, but have to hope that’s the version they’ll be getting under center instead of the one who was benched by another quarterback whisperer in Lincoln Riley. Center Pete Nygra is among a handful of solid building blocks for the offensive line, but there’s still skepticism about how a few players stepping up a level (such as guard Jordan Church from FAU) will fare once the heart of ACC play begins. Then there’s the defense, which will have a completely remade secondary and will be building around a quality linebacking corps with a host of transfers from smaller schools or inexperienced starters up and down the depth chart.
Maybe it will all be enough to make it to Charlotte for the ACC championship game, maybe not. The schedule features three potentially difficult road trips in league play, but Clemson comes to town late in the season for a game that should have an impact on tiebreakers if nothing else. The Cardinals are in a good spot as one of the dark horses in the ACC but will have to hope all the reinforcements that dot the starting lineup can be difference-makers for the team hoping to do a lot more celebrating of big wins instead of pondering what went wrong in a few frustrating losses.
Fast Facts
2024 record: 9–4, 5–3 ACC
Offense: 36.5 ppg (7th in FBS), 6.85 yards per play (5th)
Defense: 24.1 ppg (56th in FBS), 5.41 yards per play (55th)
On the Headset
Jeff Brohm, entering Year 3 at Louisville (12th as a head coach), 85–52 overall record, 19–8 with the Cardinals
It’s hard to imagine a native son returning home and things going much better than they have since Brohm arrived back in Louisville two years ago. The Cards made it to the ACC championship game during his first season and then won nine games in Year 2, a disappointing campaign by Cardinals standards.
If there’s anything to nitpick about Brohm’s tenure it’s a lack of high school recruiting success (the Cardinals were second to last in the ACC in the recent 247Sports team rankings) and an overreliance on the portal. It doesn’t matter if the wins keep coming, but having a foundation of players you develop works out best long term for programs that go from very good to great. Perhaps the hire of general manager Vince Marrow from rival Kentucky will help change that outlook. Still, there isn’t much suggesting Brohm won’t regularly contend for conference titles.
Key Returning Starters
RBs Isaac Brown and Duke Watson, Sophomores
Though it was Brown who was the ACC Rookie of the Year last season, the pair of tailbacks are lumped together given how they operate off each other in the backfield as a one-two punch (a combined 1,770 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns). Watson led the country with 8.9 yards per carry and provides a little more size, but both can take it to the house on just about every play and should allow the offense to get up to speed while shouldering the load early on.
Key Transfer
QB Miller Moss, Sr., from USC
After waiting his turn to become the starter in Los Angeles, Moss was benched in November by Riley after the Trojans could not get over the hump in several close losses. He still threw for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns despite starting only nine games. He should bring plenty to the table if he can get a few more clean pockets than he did at USC.
Key Departure
DL Ashton Gillotte, third-round NFL draft pick to the Kansas City Chiefs
A three-year starter who recorded 15.5 sacks across his final two seasons, Gillotte was a bright spot on defense who will be sorely missed for his knack of making a big play at just the right moment.
Circle the Dates
- Sept. 27, at Pitt
- Oct. 17, at Miami
- Nov. 14, vs. Clemson
- Nov. 22, at SMU
Bottom Line
We all expect—heck, know—the offense will be good under Brohm & Co., but it will likely be the defense that determines Louisville’s ceiling in 2025 and whether some of those close losses turn into enough wins to be an ACC challenger to Clemson.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preseason Top 25: No. 24 Louisville.