Louisville picked 3rd in ACC football preseason poll, highest since 2017

Cardinals receive four first-place votes as media tab Jeff Brohm's team among the conference's top championship contenders.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville enters the 2026 football season with some of the highest expectations the program has carried in years.

The Cardinals were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason media poll released Tuesday, their highest projected finish in nine years.

Jeff Brohm's team received four first-place votes and 2,569 points in voting by media members covering the league.

Miami, off its College Football Playoff runner-up finish last season, was the overwhelming preseason favorite with 165 first-place votes, while SMU was picked second after reaching last season's ACC Championship game. Louisville finished ahead of perennial league contender Clemson, which was fourth, and Georgia Tech, which rounded out the top five.

The third-place projection is Louisville's best in the preseason poll since 2017, when the Cardinals also were picked third with quarterback Lamar Jackson returning after winning the Heisman Trophy.

The ranking reflects growing expectations around a Louisville team coming off a 9-4 season and entering Brohm's fourth year as head coach.

National preview publications have also projected the Cardinals among the ACC's top contenders, citing an experienced defensive front led by Clev Lubin and AJ Green and an offense keyed by standout running back Isaac Brown and the potential of new starting quarterback Lincoln Kienholz.

Louisville opens the season Sept. 6 against Ole Miss in Nashville before beginning ACC play Sept. 19 at L&N Stadium against SMU in an early matchup between two of the conference's preseason top-three teams.

2026 ACC Football Predicted Order of Finish (Media Vote)