The 2023 Louisville Cardinals football season was a success in many ways across Kentucky sports betting, but it also had its share of disappointment. Jeff Brohm returned to his alma mater, and in his first year as UofL’s coach, the Cards posted a 10-4 record, their first 10-win season since going 12-1 in 2013.
Louisville reached a conference championship game for the first time, and the school also broke into the Associated Press and College Football Playoff top 10 rankings for the first time since 2016.
However, just like that 2016 team, UofL lost three straight games to end the season. That included another painful last-minute loss at home to an unranked Kentucky team to end the regular season and a disappointing performance in a bowl game, falling 42-28 to Southern Cal in the Holiday Bowl.
With the kickoff to the 2024 season now just seven weeks away, BetKentucky.com is rolling out its bowl projections for Brohm and the Cards. These are our own odds and are for infotainment purposes only.
Bowl | Location | Conference Opponent | Odds | Percentage Chance |
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | El Paso, TX | vs. ACC or former Pac12 | +350 | 22.2% |
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Jacksonville, FL | vs. SEC | +400 | 20.0% |
ReliaQuest Bowl | Tampa, FL | vs. SEC or Big Ten | +500 | 16.7% |
Pop-Tarts Bowl | Orlando, FL | vs. Big 12 | +500 | 16.7% |
Pinstripe Bowl | New York, NY | vs. Big Ten | +600 | 14.3% |
The Field / No Bowl | +1000 | 9.1% |
Odds provided by BetKentucky.com and not available on Kentucky betting apps.
Let’s make one thing clear here before we go any further. We’re not saying Louisville won’t make the College Football Playoff. We’re including that as part of the field. Caesars Kentucky Sportsbook gives the Cards odds of +425, an implied probability of 19.1%, so there are oddsmakers who believe the Cardinals are contenders.
This year’s team does have that chance, but the schedule is also tougher than it was last season. Clemson was not on the schedule last season and UofL must travel to South Carolina to face the Tigers in Death Valley. While Louisville beat Notre Dame at home last year, this time around the Cards visit South Bend. Games against ACC newbie SMU and Miami are at home but should not be discounted.
Oddsmakers at DraftKings Kentucky Sportsbook offer +275 odds on the Cardinals making the ACC Championship game for the second straight season and odds of +650 to win their first ACC title. BetMGM Kentucky set Louisville’s 2024 win total at 8.5, with the under the slight favorite now at -135. The over is available at +115.
With those odds in mind, we believe the most likely destination will be El Paso and the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl or the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. While they’re not playoff games, they’re not the worst possible outcomes, either.
Year | Bowl | Result |
2023 | Holiday Bowl | Loss, 42-28 against USC |
2022 | Fenway Bowl | Win, 24-7 against Cincinnati |
2021 | First Responder Bowl | Loss, 31-28 against Air Force |
2020 | No Bowl Game |
|
2019 | Music City Bowl | Win, 38-28 vs. Mississippi State |
Just like last year, Brohm has transformed this year’s team through the transfer portal. UofL will bring in a quarterback who’s expected to be the starter, and the hope is that Tyler Shough will finally be healthy and can produce more consistently than Jack Plummer did last season.
The Cardinals’ offense will look almost completely new after the team lost Plummer, wide receiver Jamari Thrash and running backs Jawhar Jordan and Issac Guerendo graduated or applied for the NFL draft. However, the defense brings back eight starters from a team that was one of the toughest against the run in the country. That unit will be led by defensive lineman and All-American candidate Ashton Gillotte, defensive back Benjamin Perry and linebacker T.J. Quinn.
Despite the outside chance they have of winning the ACC, the Cards are a longshot to win the national title this season. Fanatics Kentucky Sportsbook has set UofL’s odds for winning its first championship at +15000.
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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