For the third straight year, the Louisville Cardinals ended the regular season with an 8-4 record. Injuries and turnovers doomed UofL’s chances of making the College Football Playoff in 2025, but coach Jeff Brohm’s team ended the season in strong fashion with a 41-0 shellacking of archrival Kentucky.
Now, the Cards and their Kentucky sports betting backers await to see where they will head to play in the postseason. For the final time in 2025, BetKentucky has updated Louisville’s odds for their bowl game.
| Bowl, Location | Conference Opponent | Odds | Pct. Chance |
| Pinstripe Bowl, New York | Big Ten | +100 | 50% |
| Military Bowl, Annapolis, MD | American | +400 | 20% |
| Duke’s Mayo, Charlotte | SEC | +1150 | 8% |
| Pop-Tarts, Orlando | Big 12 | +1150 | 8% |
| Fenway, Boston | American | +1900 | 5% |
| (Other) Field | +1010 | 9% |
At BetKentucky.com, as part of our Kentucky college football betting season analysis, these are our exclusive odds on where the Cardinals will go bowling in 2025-26.
At 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the ACC, the Cardinals finished in a five-way tie for seventh place in the conference. There are 11 bowl-eligible teams in the ACC, meaning it’s wide-open where Louisville may land. For now, we believe the Pinstripe Bowl is the favorite.
The bigger question for the Cards isn’t where they will go bowling, but who will be in uniform for them?
Louisville played without its top three running backs and its top receiver (and had its No. 2 receiver limited), all because of injuries. At this point, none of those players (running backs Isaac Brown, Keyjuan Brown, Duke Watson and receivers Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy) seem likely to dress for a bowl game.
Quarterback Miller Moss returned for the Kentucky game after a foot injury sidelined him against SMU. As a senior, though, he might forego the bowl game as he prepares for the NFL Draft. Several players who were the backbone of one of the nation’s top defenses this season might also opt out.
This makes things unpredictable for Kentucky sportsbook apps odds.
The Cardinals got big games out of fourth- and fifth-string running backs Braxton Jennings and Shaun Boykins Jr in the romp over Kentucky. Deuce Adams would likely be the quarterback in the bowl game and perhaps use that, and the practices before it, as an audition for next season.
So, while a bowl game won’t have the same level of excitement as a playoff game, it will provide a glimpse of what the Cardinals will return for next season and provide some insights into how the 2026 season might turn out.
Stick with BetKentucky for top Kentucky sports betting promos any time of year.
USA Today photo by Brett Davis
Year | Bowl | Result |
2024 | Sun Bowl | Win, 35-34 vs. Washington |
2023 | Holiday Bowl | Loss, 42-28 vs. Southern Cal |
2023 | Fenway Bowl | Win, 24-7 vs. Cincinnati |
2021 | First Responder Bowl | Loss, 31-28 vs. Air Force |
2019 | Music City Bowl | Win, 38-28 vs. Mississippi State |
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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