Something special in the Cards? All signs point to a big season for Brohm, U of L football

By RUSS BROWN Photos By UofL Athletics 

What do you call back-to-back college football seasons consisting of nine and 10 victories, including the first appearance in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, a bowl title, a first-ever win over Clemson and the end of a five-game losing streak against archrival Kentucky? 

A good start. 

At least that’s how Jeff Brohm describes his impressive first two years as Louisville’s football coach, suggesting that the best is yet to come. 

“For the last couple of years we’ve had some success, but we want to continue to improve upon that and push it forward,” Brohm says. “We’ve had two pretty good years. Those moments felt great, those were good things, but how can we get better? In this game, consistency is the most important thing. Everyone wants to get to the prize at the end (a national championship). That’s a challenge and it’s not easy. We want to put the best plan together so we can go out, have fun playing and make this an exciting year.” 

All the ingredients appear to be in place for that to happen, including a favorable schedule and a veteran team with returnees at a number of key positions supplemented by a transfer portal haul regarded as one of the best in the nation. 

“We feel all the components are there for us to do something special,” Brohm said. “We want to be there at the end.” 

U of L received a lot of preseason attention, ranking in every major Top 25 poll, with some experts even tabbing them as a darkhorse contender to make the newly-expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. And Brohm is on the Watch List for the 2025 Dodd Trophy, which measures a coach’s on-field success as well as Academic Progress Rate, Graduation Success Rate, commitment to charity and community service, and more. 

Let’s start with the schedule. For only the second time in program history, the Cards will play eight home games, and their nonconference slate isn’t particularly challenging. The stage is set for them to get off to a 3-0 start before heading into ACC play at Pittsburgh on Sept. 27. Such early momentum looks like a cinch, considering their first three games are in L&N Stadium against non-power conference teams Eastern Kentucky (Atlantic Sun), James Madison (Sun Belt) and Bowling Green (MAC). 

The final non-league opponent is Kentucky, which is picked to finish near the bottom of the 16-team SEC. That game will also be played on Louisville’s field, as well as ACC contests against Virginia, Boston College, Cal and Clemson. 

“We’ve got to take advantage of our home games,” Brohm said. “Winning all your home games is vital to the overall success of your team. We have a great stadium and great fan support. They want to see a team that plays hard, plays to win and competes to the very end. I think we can hopefully get that out of our team.” 

Clemson, which is the overwhelming choice to win the ACC title, figures to be U of L’s toughest home game by far, with the Tigers set for a Nov. 14 visit. The Cards will also face major challenges on the road from Miami and SMU, both of whom defeated them in Louisville last season. 

Personnel-wise, the most valuable addition to the roster is quarterback Miller Moss, who entered the portal and was scooped up by Brohm after spending four seasons at USC, including throwing six touchdown passes against the Cards in a 42-28 victory in the 2023 Holiday Bowl. 

“He’s a talented young man and he’s battle-tested,” Brohm said. “He’s had some ups and downs, but he throws the ball accurately and he understands football. We have high expectations and we feel confident in him. I think in order to win at a high level, a lot of things have to take place, but you have to have great quarterback play. 

“For us, having a quarterback who doesn’t have to do everything is also important. You have a good running game, you’ve got a good play action game, you’ve got a good defense, a good offensive line. All those things matter to great quarterback play. We hope for Miller to have a great year, and we are definitely optimistic that with the weapons we have and the team we have that he will excel and play extremely well for us.” 

Moss has a pair of talented, speedy wide receivers to target in Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy and two dynamic running backs to share the offensive load. Isaac Brown and Duke Watson combined for 1,770 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns last season as freshmen, and Brown, who has earned preseason All-American mention, broke the school freshman rushing record set by Lamar Jackson. The offense could be the most versatile and productive in Brohm’s tenure. 

“(Brown) has definitely helped me love the running game, which does not usually happen, “Brohm said. “But when it’s that easy to just hand the ball off and they go for a lot of yards, I’m like, ‘Man, this is even easier than passing it. Keep doing it.’ I think we know who our playmakers are.” 

On the other side of the ball, improved pass defense is the priority after the Cards finished 100th nationally in passing yards allowed per game and 87th in pass efficiency defense last season. Although the defense has some holes to fill, having lost star cornerback Quincy Riley and pass-rusher Ashton Gillotte, Brohm is confident that returning players with experience and additions from the portal will provide plenty of punch.