Realistic expectations for Louisville football in 2024

Jeff Brohm did wonders for Louisville football in his first year as head coach back at his alma mater after taking over for Scott Satterfield.

The Cardinals went 10-4 in his first season as head coach and they even made a trip to the ACC title game to face then-undefeated Florida State. They fell short, 16-6, in a sleepy matchup but it was a good sign that this program is turning around in a hurry under its new head coach. Brohm just feels like the perfect fit.

And now Louisville is returning 11 starters from that 10-win team but that's not all bad. The offense was above average last season but the weakness was through the air and that was addressed with the addition of Tyler Shough at quarterback. He's going to have some really good targets to throw to like Ja'Corey Brooks, Antonio Meeks, and Chris Bell.

The defense was surprisingly solid last year, too, finishing 21st nationally in total yards allowed per game and 33rd in scoring. They were also ninth against the run. And this side of the ball returns seven starters so there will be no concern there.

With the 13th-ranked transfer class coming in and some key players back, Louisville should be flirting with the Top 25 again.

So what are the realistic expectations in year two of Brohm?

Looking at the schedule, Louisville will start out 3-0 with a hardfought win over Georgia Tech in Week 4. The Cardinals will drop their first game the following week against Notre Dame before beating SMU, Virginia, and stealing a close one from Miami. At 6-1, everyone will be watching to see if they can stay hot, but the Cardinals will lose two straight to Boston College and Clemson before beating Stanford and Pitt and losing to Kentucky to end the season 8-4.

While not exactly a "successful" year two, it'll be good enough for Brohm to build on.