Syracuse football’s 2026 week-seven opponent: Get to know the Louisville Cardinals

Near the midway point of the 2026 college football season, the Syracuse Orange will renew acquaintances with the Louisville Cardinals. It’s been a few years since the Orange and Cards have crossed paths, although the two have been regular opponents for most of the current century. Since the last time we saw the Cardinals, Louisville has emerged as one of the more consistent teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, making this a tough game for head coach Fran Brown’s team. Let’s find out what awaits the Orange by learning more about the Louisville football team ahead of the 2026 season.

Louisville head coach: Jeff Brohm

Brohm is a Louisville guy through and through. He was the starting quarterback for the Cardinals in the early 90s, going 15-10 as a starter, with most of those wins coming during Louisville’s 9-3 campaign in 1993 under legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger. Across seven years, six different NFL teams employed Brohm as a backup quarterback before he played seven games in the XFL.

In 2002, Brohm began his coaching career as head coach of an arena football team in Louisville. His alma mater then employed him as an assistant from 2003 to 2008, eventually becoming offensive coordinator. In 2009, he joined Schnellenberger at Florida Atlantic as the quarterbacks coach, with stops at Illinois and UAB before joining the Western Kentucky staff in 2013.

A year later, he became head coach of the Hilltoppers. He went 30-10 over three seasons at Western Kentucky before leaving for Purdue. Brohm took the Boilermakers to four bowl games in six seasons and then jumped at the chance to take over his alma mater in 2023. Under Brohm, the Cardinals are 28-12 over the last three seasons, even reaching the ACC Championship Game in 2023.

Last meeting with Syracuse: Syracuse 31, Louisville 7 (2022)

Orange fans were treated to a pleasant surprise when Syracuse hosted Louisville in the 2022 season opener. After an early field goal and a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Sean Tucker, the Orange took an early 10-7 lead and never looked back. Tucker finished with 100 rushing yards, 84 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Garrett Shrader threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown. The Syracuse defense was equally impressive in an emphatic win to jumpstart the Orange’s 6-0 start to the season.

Series history

Unfortunately, that win in 2022 is a rare event in this series. Syracuse has just five wins in 18 head-to-head meetings with Louisville since 2003. One of those was the famous 35-point underdog victory in 2007. There was also the 54-23 drubbing the 2018 Orange gave the Cards. Alas, Louisville has won seven of the nine games as ACC foes, with all seven of those Syracuse losses coming by at least 22 points. That being said, the home and away games haven’t exactly been even, which is why Syracuse has won the last two meetings in the Dome, where the Cardinals haven’t won since 2016.

Louisville’s 2025 season

The Cardinals had a chance to be special in 2025 following a 4-0 start to the season. However, an overtime loss to Virginia threw them off course. Granted, Louisville responded with three straight wins, including a road win over No. 2 Miami. In November, the Cards were 7-1 and well-positioned to win the ACC title. However, they lost to Cal in overtime, suffered a 20-19 loss to Clemson, and got thrashed 38-6 by SMU, spoiling those plans. After dominating in-state rival Kentucky 41-0 and knocking off Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl, the Cards finished the season 9-4.

Louisville’s key returning players

The Cardinals don’t return a lot of players from last year’s offense, but they do bring back the backfield duo of Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown. These two combined for 1,588 yards on 197 carries with 13 touchdowns. Both averaged more than seven yards per carry, so if the revamped offensive line can create holes, the Cardinals have two excellent backs. Of course, it’s a different story at wide receiver, as TreyShun Hurry is the top returning receiver on the roster after finishing seventh on the team in receiving yards in 2025.

On defense, Clev Lubin is in line to be one of the ACC’s top pass rushers after racking up 8.5 sacks for the Louisville defense last year. Senior Antonio Watts and junior T.J. Capers will give the Cards an experienced set of linebackers. Likewise, cornerback Tayon Holloway excelled last year with two interceptions and five defended passes. However, he’s one of the few holdovers in the secondary.

Louisville’s notable additions

Miller Moss joined Louisville out of the transfer portal last season, and the Cardinals have gone that same route this year, bringing in Ohio State transfer Lincoln Keinholz. In three years with the Buckeyes, Keinholz played sparingly, attempting just 36 passes. However, he came close to beating out Julian Sayin for the starting job last season, making Brohm and the Cards confident that he’ll be able to hit the ground running despite a lack of experience.

Surrounding Keinholz will be plenty of other new faces, starting with wide receivers Lawayne McCoy, Tre Richardson and Jackson Voth. Richardson is the most intriguing of the group, showcasing dynamic playmaking ability at Vanderbilt last year, racking up 806 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 46 catches. Meanwhile, the Louisville offensive line is projected to have four starters who have transferred into the program this year. That group will be largely unfamiliar with each other, although they will be anchored by Lance Robinson, one of the ACC’s top centers.

On the other side of the ball, Miami transfer Daylen Russell and Purdue transfer Dameco Kennedy will provide the defensive line with an immediate boost, with Kentucky transfer Jerod Smith also adding depth up front. The Louisville secondary has also been revamped with transfers. Iowa transfer Koen Entringer will be the primary safety after being a consistent contributor for the Hawks the last two seasons. Tennessee transfer Kaleb Beasley and Ole Miss transfer T.J. Banks will also see the field. Several cornerback transfers will also be counted on right away, including Kentucky transfer DJ Waller Jr.

Louisville’s season outlook

A promising 2025 season fell apart for the Cardinals in November. But Louisville looks ready to make amends for that this year. The offensive line and secondary have some questions, but the Cardinals undoubtedly have offensive playmakers and a strong front seven. Of course, much of their season hinges on Keinholz taking over for a quarterback with far more experience. But if everything falls into place, the Cardinals are a potential challenger for the ACC crown.

Perhaps Louisville’s bigger problem is a challenging early-season schedule. The Cards open with a neutral-site game against Ole Miss and then host fellow ACC contender SMU the third week of the season. The silver lining is that they’ll play SMU, Florida State and Pittsburgh at home. Those will be Louisville’s toughest games of the season. If the Cards can avoid a slow start and hold serve at home, they have a favorable schedule in terms of getting to the ACC Championship Game.

When and where does Louisville play Syracuse in 2026?

The Orange will host Louisville on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the JMA Wireless Dome. Kickoff time for the game is TBA.

Prediction: Louisville 38, Syracuse 24

By the midway point of the season, the Cardinals should be able to hit their stride, which is bad news for Fran Brown and the Orange. Unless Syracuse ends up being far better than expected, keeping up with Louisville for 60 minutes will be tough, even at home. The Cardinals have a bye after going to the JMA Wireless Dome, so the Orange won’t be able to catch Louisville looking ahead, and an upset against the Cards may not be in the cards.

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