The 2025 Louisville Cardinals football season was a season of highs and lows, to say the least. Finishing 9-4 in a season that felt like they went 6-6 and only earning a trip to the Boca Raton Bowl against Toledo, they defeated the Rockets 27-22 and went back-to-back seasons with a bowl win. Considering the talent on this roster, this was a failure.
The Cards started the year 4-0 with a good win against College Football Playoff 12th-seeded JMU and a road win at Pitt, giving the fans the hope that maybe this year would be the year they get over the hump and put themselves back in Charlotte competing for the ACC championship.
The following week, the Birds fell in OT to No. 24 Virginia thanks to costly turnovers and poor quarterback play, a reoccurring theme with Jeff Brohm at the helm. This was just the start of the roller coaster.
The following week, the Cards stormed into Miami and upset the national champion runner-up Hurricanes 24-21. The company of Chris Bell and the defense stepped up and put the Cards back in the conversation of a top team in the conference.
After winning the next two weeks against Boston College and at Virginia Tech, the Cardinals’ season was at an all-time high. Ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and sitting at 7-1, the Cards controlled their own destiny to potentially reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.
As we all know, the Cardinals always find a way to beat themselves. They proceeded to lose three straight, including two one-possession losses to Clemson and Cal, then getting demoralized without Miller Moss to SMU.
If things couldn’t get worse, over those three weeks they lost Issac Brown and Chris Bell, eliminating themselves for yet another year. The Cardinals ended the year with a 41-0 win against that team in Lexington to finish the regular season on a high note. At least the Governor’s Cup stays in Louisville for another year.
The 2026 season is now set, and expectations could not be any higher for Louisville.
After the transfer portal cycle, the Cards now sit fifth in the country, with 30 players leaving and 31 coming in. They also are bringing in 20 new freshmen with the class of 2026.
Their biggest addition wasn’t even an addition at all, it was returning star rising junior running back Issac Brown. Brohm also found his quarterback of the future with redshirt junior Lincoln Kienholz from Ohio State.
Kienholz, who saw very limited action in scarlet, is poised for a breakout year with his new school. Other key offensive portal additions are wide receivers Tre Richardson (Sr., Vanderbilt), Lawayne McCory (Jr., Florida State) and tight end Brody Foley (R-Sr., Tulsa).
On the defensive side of the ball, they lose their leader in defensive coordinator Ron English. As they wait to find his replacement, they added five new members to their secondary, as well as returning their best defensive player in senior Clev Rubin, who had 8.5 sacks.
We are now 217 days from the season opener against Ole Miss at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Can this be the season the Cardinals take the next step forward?
