When the Louisville football team takes the field inside Papa John's Cardinal Stadium against Charlotte on Sept. 1, it will do so with a preseason top 25 ranking for the first time since 2013. The Cards check in at No. 23 in the preseason coaches' poll, and are No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25 that was released last weekend.
In all, this is the sixth time in the history of UofL football that a Cardinal team has started a season with a top 20 national ranking. This season, however, is a bit different than the other five on that list.