The Louisville Cardinals would not have been top of mind if you asked anyone for a preseason ACC favorite. Through six weeks, however, they’re the first team in the conference to bowl eligibility and one of three remaining unbeatens after a 33-20 home victory over Notre Dame. But who says the magic needs to stop there?
USA Today’s Eddie Timanus, among his Week 6 Overreactions, said the Cardinals could emulate the TCU Horned Frogs’ CFP run from a season ago, with similar themes in a new head coach, a roster rebuilt through the transfer portal and excellent close-game luck.
Again, it’s important to keep in mind that Timanus framed this as an overreaction, not a prediction. But Timanus pointed out that the Cardinals just need to finish in the top 2 of the ACC to play in the title game and they don’t play North Carolina or Florida State, the other premiere teams thus far.
In all likelihood, a situation like TCU might be a once-in-a-decade situation. There have been 36 College Football Playoff teams since the format’s inception. 30 of them have either been an SEC team, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, or Notre Dame.
But there’s some foundation there, and that’s all Timanus is pointing out. The Cardinals control their own destiny for the rest of the regular season. Louisville has maybe the two most electric position players in the conference in Jawhar Jordan and Jamari Thrash, who they can rely on similar to how the Horned Frogs relied on Quintin Johnston. Quarterback Jack Plummer can’t match Max Duggan as a dual threat, but he has 11 touchdowns and four interceptions against Power 5 opponents. The Cardinals are fourth in scoring offense and third in scoring defense in the ACC.
The ACC seems a bit too top-heavy compared to last year’s Big 12 to feel anything more than a faint hope for another Cinderella story. Oklahoma and Texas were rebuilding a season ago, especially with the Sooners an uncommon 6-7. TCU still didn’t win the conference, either, needing the Pac-12 and ACC to both produce multi-loss champions to sneak into the dance.
Florida State hasn’t looked dominant since Week 1, but they still knocked the doors off LSU. North Carolina has the conference’s best player in quarterback Drake Maye, and their defense and rushing attack have shown up consistently throughout the year.
Louisville still has a couple of major tests left this season, with Duke, Miami, and Kentucky all on the schedule. And their white-knuckle scuffle with N.C. State showed any week could pop the balloon. But the path exists, and the similarities aren’t nothing.