⚡ CFB Dashboard

Louisville is set for its second-ranked matchup of the young seasons as the No. 23 Cardinals host No. 16 SMU on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.  Ahead of the pivotal ACC matchup, CardinalAuthority is making some predictions. Jacob Polacheck, Michael McCammon, and Lilly Mitchell are making their predictions for Louisville vs. SMU.  Jacob Polacheck All offseason, I predicted that Louisville would beat Ole Miss in its opener, and then lose to SMU in week three. Well, the Cards weren't able to beat Ole Miss, so does that give me the chance to back out of the second half of that prediction? I'm still saying no.  I'm sticking with my prediction that SMU comes away with a 35-31 victory on the road. The Kevin Jennings vs. Lincoln Kienholz QB matchup will draw headlines, and I'm expecting solid performances from both of them. Kienholz has taken his time to get settled in both of the Cardinals first two games, and he'll need to be dialed in from the first snap for the Cards to come away with a win.  Prediction: SMU 35, Louisville 31 Michael McCammon It's an early-season ACC meeting, but it sure has the vibe of a late-season contest with title implications on the line. Despite Louisville and SMU meeting before the official start of autumn arrives, this one still carries the same weight as a late-November matchup to decide a spot in the league's championship. The 23rd-ranked Cardinals and 16th-ranked Mustangs both feature a quarterback who is among the hottest to start 2026. There are even some similarities, but there is a significant difference: SMU's Kevin Jennings has 28 career starts, and he's 21-7 in those contests, including 2-0 vs the Cardinals, while UofL's Lincoln Kienholz is making just his third career start after transferring from Ohio State. Early game jitters have been an issue for Kienholz through two games. The defense for both teams will be consistently challenged at all levels, and the heat is likely to have an impact late in the game. Louisville's balanced offense will prove the difference. While each team will have big-play strikes, the ability to control the clock via a consistent ground game boosts Louisville to its first win over SMU. Prediction: Louisville 34, SMU 31 Lilly Mitchell I think this will be a close scoring game. The Louisville offense has been showing us a good bit of consistency after the second half. The only thing I'm worried about is the number of penalties that the Cardinals will commit. This has been something that we continue to see, and those little mistakes can make or break games like this. However, Ivey, Ellis, and Brohm have definitely noticed this and hopefully have started tightening things up. I think Lubin and Thompson will show out and put a stop to Jennings and bring home the W.  Prediction: Louisville 28, SMU 24