In the 2024 season, the ACC teams did put up a sober show. Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers wrapped up the season with a 10-4 overall record. On the other hand, Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes turned heads with their 10-3 feat. Walking into the 2025 season, Cristobal has a big motivational boost. That’s none other than Carson Beck, who left Georgia and boarded the Hurricanes’ wagon. Plus, Swinney, too, is armed with a strong quarterback, Miller Moss. But someone chose to rain on their parade. How? Turns out that Clemson and Miami are going to lose the ACC title race to a $595 million program. So, who is the biggest thorn in Swinney and Cristobal’s road to the playoffs?

That’s none other than Jeff Brohm’s Louisville Cardinals. They wrapped up the 2024 season with a 9-4 record. After taking down Austin Peay 62-0 in the first game of the season, the Cardinals followed that up with a 49-14 win over Jacksonville State in Week 2. Brohm’s advertisement of defense did not fall apart. The offense was also better than what people thought. After all, scoring over 100 points in the first two weeks is no joke. Well, Swinney’s Tigers already got a glimpse of Brohm’s boys’ rage in 2024. Clemson lost to Louisville in a 21-33 disastrous feat. The pressure up front certainly played a big factor in throwing a wrench into Clemson’s prolific offense, and no wonder Brohm’s team played their best game in pass coverage all season long. Even though the Cardinals lost to Miami (45-51), luck might not favor the Hurricanes this time. 

On the May 19 episode of the 247Sports podcast, Gerald “Smoke” Dixon had a question for analyst Bud Elliott. “Outside of Clemson & Miami, who could win the ACC this season?” To which Elliott replied,  “If something happens to Clemson and Miami, maybe their quarterbacks don’t stay healthy… I got to look at Louisville, SMU, and Georgia Tech….but Louisville and SMU are the top two challengers.” Even though the analyst dished out two options that might rob Swinney and Cristobal of their goodnight sleep, Dixon wanted him to be more specific. Maybe, he could sense Elliott’s heartbeat only for one program.  

“Bud, I want you to be exactly at point.” That’s when the analyst broke his silence. “I am gonna take Louisville, if it’s a sleeper…I like a lot of the roster around new quarterback Miller Moss, and I really think Jeff Brohm is a heck of a coach.” A last-chance narrative is playing for Brohm’s quarterback, Moss, who transferred from USC for his final season of eligibility. He is walking into the Cardinals with a strong resume of 3,469 yards and 27 touchdowns, along with a 65.9% completion rate. However, no matter how powerful the quarterback is, he will fumble without a good head coach.

In Brohm’s case, mediocrity has never been a concern. In his first six seasons at Purdue, he amassed an 85-52 record (at major schools). Brohm also led Purdue to four bowl game appearances and three victories over Top 5 teams. And here come two more cherries on the cake. 

New faces and big hopes in Jeff Brohm’s squad

The receiving corps and the defense. Like all other college football programs, Brohm witnessed players swapping wagons. However, their first commitment in the portal window has been a steal deal. That’s none other than wide receiver Dacari Collins, who spent the last two seasons with NC State. The 6-foot-4, 212-pounder’s coming off his best season at the college level. Even though he has been bogged down by an injury and missed his game against Wake Forest, in 12 games, Collins caught 24 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns, all of which were career-highs.

Brohm also did a good job when it came to bolstering their defense. One of the star players is the three-star safety out of Miramar High School, Darius Thomas. He is coming off the best season of his career, finishing fourth on the team with 54 total tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble. The next one in the line is defensive back Jojo Evans. At his time at FIU, the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder racked up 41 total tackles and two interceptions. And how could we miss the NFL bloodline in Brohm’s defense?

That’s none other than Demon Clowney, who is the cousin of the NFL star Jadeveon Clowney. However, after all this hype, it’s not the right time for Jeff Brohm to sit back and relax. The pressure is on. After all, the Cardinals have never won the ACC Football Title. Walking into the 2025 season, they have a tough schedule. They will have to travel to Miami, SMU, Pitt, and Virginia Tech this season. In that case, they can’t go wrong in games like that against Eastern Kentucky, James Madison, Bowling Green, among others. Louisville fans are hoping Brohm is the one to finally quench their championship thirst.