Brown: ACC title game is within reach for Louisville football — it's OK to talk about it

Now that Louisville’s path to the ACC title game is clear, the Cardinals can finally start talking about a potential championship.

But they’re not.

Like, nobody.

It’s either a sign of a championship pedigree — go back and try to find any of Nick Saban’s national title teams at Alabama actively talking about winning it all — or a sign of a joyless team. I haven’t decided which one yet.

“As soon as you get this much distracted, it’ll cause a loss,” U of L coach Jeff Brohm said. “I've been through it. We've learned the hard way. It sounds simple, but you have to just focus on the one game in hand.”

If you’ve listened to a Brohm news conference this season, you know what’s coming next from anyone in the program asked about the title game.

And on cue, right tackle Eric Miller said the mantra that everyone repeats.

“It's kind of in the back of everyone's mind, but at the forefront is, it's a one-game season,” Miller said.

There it is.

One.

Game.

Season.

It almost seems like Louisville believes if it stays quiet, none of its opponents will know its on the brink of being one of two teams standing.

Hate to break the news here, the Cards aren’t a secret anymore in the ACC or to the nation. That all changed when they sent Notre Dame back to South Bend with its worst loss in Marcus Freeman’s two seasons at the helm.

U of L worked hard to be in this position, so it’s OK to embrace it now.

Playing in the ACC championship game is no longer just a generic goal that every team shares. Even last-place Syracuse was motivated by it before the season began.

It’s a realistic goal that only three teams can say if they win out, they’ll be in the last conference game without needing help.

The Cards face one of those teams Saturday.

And should they beat Virginia Tech at home, they’ll be in sole possession of second place behind Florida State as the only one-loss team in the conference.

Louisville then gets Virginia at home next Thursday before ending ACC play at Miami on Nov. 18. U of L will likely be favored in each of those games.

It’s down to just winning three games to earn their first berth in the ACC championship since joining the league in 2014.

What kid who’s promised dessert at the end of a meal doesn’t dream of their reward for clearing their plate? That’s essentially what the Cards are doing by not acknowledging the championship is within their grasp.

If the Cards were feeling chesty after beating the Irish, the loss at Pitt eliminated the chance hubris would earn a spot in their locker room. That and watching Virginia and Georgia Tech in consecutive weekends eliminate North Carolina as their major competition for second place.

“Things crumble real fast when you lose,” Brohm said.

For Brohm, it would be his second straight season leading a team to a conference title game. He led Purdue to the Big Ten West Division last year and its first trip to the Big Ten championship.

Brohm said his time with the Boilermakers helped form why he doesn’t talk much about reaching goals in the middle of pursuing them.

“We talk about the one-game season as much as we can,” Brohm said. “And that’s really to eliminate the pressure of looking at where are we gonna be at the end of the year.”

It's OK to do more than look. The Cards no longer have to stay silent about their success.

More: Quick-starting defense has helped power Louisville football to 7-1 start under Jeff Brohm

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter atprofile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football: ACC championship game within reach for Jeff Brohm