The Louisville Cardinals beat James Madison before a national television audience on Friday to move to 2-0 on the season. While the Dukes aren’t in a power conference, they won 28 games in their first three FBS seasons with wins at North Carolina and Virginia.
How much will a win over James Madison mean for Louisville’s bowl chances? At BetKentucky.com, as part of our Kentucky college football betting season analysis, we’re setting exclusive odds on where the Cardinals will go bowling in 2025-26.
| Bowl, Location | Conference Opponent | Odds | Pct. Chance |
| Gator, Jacksonville, FL | SEC | +200 | 33% |
| Duke’s Mayo, Charlotte, NC | SEC | +300 | 25% |
| Pop Tarts, Orlando, FL | Big 12 | +525 | 16% |
| CFP First Round, TBD | TBD | +900 | 10% |
| Military, Washington, DC | American | +900 | 10% |
| The Field (Other or No Bowl) | +1550 | 6% |
These odds are exclusive to BetKentucky.com as part of our Kentucky sports betting coverage; they will be updated all season.
The Cardinals were far from dominant on Friday night. However, the defense stymied James Madison and made a big play on a fourth quarter fumble recovery in the end zone to put UofL ahead. Then Isaac Brown sealed the game with a late 78-yard touchdown run as the Cards won 28-14.
Now, Louisville enters its first off week of the 2025 season after Friday’s win. The Cards will return Sept. 20 to face Bowling Green at home. Their first ACC game comes a week later at Pittsburgh.
UofL’s bowl picture will become a little clearer once coach Jeff Brohm’s team enters league play. Louisville was picked fifth in the conference’s preseason media poll, but the Cardinals are also among the top teams receiving votes in the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll.
BetKentucky.com will keep updating these odds and offer the best Kentucky sports betting promos all season.
The short answer is, yes. But just like things, it gets a little more complicated after that. If Louisville wins the ACC, it gets in regardless. If not, then Louisville likely needs to finish with one regular-season loss. That would also mean the Cards get a marquee win over either Clemson or Miami.
As of Monday, DraftKings Kentucky Sportsbook had +400 odds on the Cards to make the 12-team CFP field this season.
An 11-1 overall record and 7-1 conference record should be good enough to get to the ACC Championship game. Even if the Cards don’t win the title game in Charlotte, they would likely be considered the league’s No. 2 team and in position for an at-large berth.
That, though, is no guarantee as Louisville will find itself compared to a bevy of Big Ten and SEC schools that can claim they had a tougher schedule, if not a better record.
There’s still a long way to go, though, before any of that happens. BetKentucky.com will be watching the Cardinals all the way this season and keeping you up to date on their postseason chances.
Caesars Kentucky Sportsbook has +950 odds on Louisville to win the ACC as of Sept. 8.
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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