Louisville enters initial College Football Playoff rankings at No. 15
University of Louisville football has been included in the initial College Football Playoff rankings as the No. 15 team in the country.
The rankings were released Tuesday night on ESPN and will be released weekly, leading up to the Playoff reveal after the conference championships conclude. The Cardinals, sitting at 7-1 overall with a 4-1 record in the ACC, including two ranked wins at No. 24 Pittsburgh and No. 18 Miami (FL), are firmly in the mix as they enter the final month of the season.
Five ACC teams enter the rankings, including No. 14 Virginia (8-1) and No. 17 Georgia Tech (8-1), on top of Miami and Pitt, and it seems to be a six-team race for the conference championship, with SMU also holding one conference loss.
Jeff Brohm’s team is coming off a 28-16 win at Virginia Tech and is in the midst of preparing for California and true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. You can find our “at a glance” preview here.
Cal got off to a 5-2 start to the season, but has heartbreakingly lost back-to-back ACC games — a 42-34 2OT loss at Virginia Tech and a 31-21 loss to No. 14 Virginia, where the Bears had a chance to tie but instead threw a pick six with 11 seconds remaining.
The Cavaliers present the greatest threat to the Cardinals making the CFP, having beaten Louisville in overtime last month, but it appears that just one team from the conference could be headed towards the playoff. If the Cards are to make the CFP, they’ll likely be required to win the ACC Championship.
After Cal, Louisville hosts Clemson and visits SMU, before wrapping up the season versus Kentucky.
