Louisville–Miami football rivalry
American college football rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Louisville–Miami football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Louisville Cardinals and Miami Hurricanes. Miami leads the all-time series, 12–5–1. Since 2023, the Schnellenberger Trophy is presented to the winner of the game.
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Miami, 33–7
Louisville, 24–21
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | November 11, 1933 Miami, 33–7 |
| Latest meeting | October 17, 2025 Louisville, 24–21 |
| Next meeting | 2027 |
| Trophy | Schnellenberger Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 18 |
| All-time series | Miami leads, 12–5–1[1] |
| Trophy series | Louisville leads, 2–1 |
| Largest victory | Miami, 45–7 (1985) |
| Longest win streak | Miami, 7 (1979–2004) |
| Longest unbeaten streak | Miami, 10 (1933–2006) |
| Current win streak | Louisville, 1 (2025–present) |
| Bowl history | |
Louisville, 1–0
2013 Russell Athletic Bowl: Louisville, 36–9 | |
The two teams had similar trajectories, with both programs spending decades as an independent before playing in the Big East and finally ending as member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[2][3]
Series history
The two teams played each other on an inconsistent basis until 2014, when Louisville joined the ACC. Despite this, the two schools were in different divisions, with Louisville being placed in the Atlantic Division, and Miami in the Coastal Division. With this scheduling format, the two teams were scheduled to meet twice every twelve years.
In 2022, the ACC announced that it would eliminate divisions and starting in 2023 would use a new 3-5-5 format for conference schedules. This format gave each team 3 permanent opponents to be played annually, with Miami and Louisville set as conference rivals. The 2023 season would be the only one played using this format.[4]
Prior to the 2023 matchup, the Schnellenberger Trophy was introduced to be rewarded to the winner of the game. The trophy honors Howard Schnellenberger, who was a head coach for Miami from 1979 to 1983, and for Louisville from 1985 to 1994. He was credited with rebuilding both schools' football programs and leading them out of financial distress. The trophy itself is a bronzed pair of Schellenberger's famous cowboy boots.[5][6]
After the ACC added three new teams to the conference, changes were again made to the scheduling format for 2024 and beyond. The new format allows for every team to play at least twice every seven years. Miami and Louisville will play each other three times in seven seasons from 2024 to 2030.[7]
Notable games
Miami comeback with Devin Hester (2004)
In an instant classic on a Thursday night, the #18 Louisville Cardinals went on the road to play the #3 Miami Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl. After being down 17 twice, Miami went on to win 41–38. Devin Hester led the comeback in the 4th quarter with a punt returned for a touchdown and another for 34 yards.[8]
Both rosters were loaded with NFL talent in a game that featured 44 players who went on to play in the NFL, 22 from both teams. Notable players include Devin Hester, Frank Gore, Greg Olsen, Antrel Rolle, Elvis Dumervil, William Gay, Michael Bush and Harry Douglas.[9]
Stomping the Cardinal Bird (2006)
#12 Louisville hosted #17 Miami in front of a record-breaking, sold-out crowd of 42,704 at Cardinal Stadium. Before the game, several Miami players stomped on the Cardinal bird logo at mid-field, provoking a fight between the teams. Louisville went on to stomp on the Hurricanes, winning 31–7. This was Louisville's first win in the series and the start of a 3-game winning streak. Starting QB Brian Brohm left the game early in the third quarter due to a thumb injury.[10][11]
First Howard Schnellenberger Trophy (2023)
In the inaugural game for the Howard Schnellenberger trophy, #10 Louisville went on the road to Hard Rock Stadium to take on Miami. The game turned into a shootout with the Cards winning 38–31 to take home the trophy and clinch their first ever berth to the ACC Championship game.[12]
Louisville upset #2 Miami (2025)
Unranked Louisville went on the road and upset undefeated #2 Miami, snapping a 10-game home winning streak and giving the Canes their first home loss since Louisville beat them in 2023. Louisville's defense held Miami to 63 rushing yards and forced 4 interceptions from Carson Beck, including a game sealing pick in the final minute by T.J. Capers. Chris Bell finished with 136 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Cards won their first ever road game over a top 5 opponent.[13][14][15]
Game results
| Louisville victories | Miami victories | Tie games |
| No. | Date | Location | Winning team | Losing team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 11, 1933 | Miami, FL | Miami | 33 | Louisville | 7 | ||
| 2 | October 8, 1949 | Louisville, KY | Miami | 26 | Louisville | 0 | ||
| 3 | November 10, 1950 | Miami, FL | Tie | 13 | Tie | 13 | ||
| 4 | September 15, 1979 | Miami, FL | Miami | 24 | Louisville | 12 | ||
| 5 | September 6, 1980 | Louisville, KY | Miami | 24 | Louisville | 10 | ||
| 6 | October 2, 1982 | Louisville, KY | #17 Miami | 28 | Louisville | 6 | ||
| 7 | October 8, 1983 | Miami, FL | #12 Miami | 42 | Louisville | 14 | ||
| 8 | November 3, 1984 | Louisville, KY | #6 Miami | 38 | Louisville | 23 | ||
| 9 | October 26, 1985 | Miami, FL | #15 Miami | 45 | Louisville | 7 | ||
| 10 | October 14, 2004 | Miami, FL | #3 Miami | 41 | #18 Louisville | 38 | ||
| 11 | September 16, 2006 | Louisville, KY | #12 Louisville | 31 | #17 Miami | 7 | ||
| 12 | December 28, 2013 | Orlando, FL | #18 Louisville | 36 | Miami | 9 | ||
| 13 | September 1, 2014 | Louisville, KY | #25 Louisville | 31 | Miami | 13 | ||
| 14 | November 9, 2019 | Miami Gardens, FL | Miami | 52 | Louisville | 27 | ||
| 15 | September 19, 2020 | Louisville, KY | #17 Miami | 47 | #18 Louisville | 34 | ||
| 16 | November 18, 2023 | Miami Gardens, FL | #9 Louisville | 38 | Miami | 31 | ||
| 17 | October 19, 2024 | Louisville, KY | #6 Miami | 52 | Louisville | 45 | ||
| 18 | October 17, 2025 | Miami Gardens, FL | Louisville | 24 | #2 Miami | 21 | ||
| Series: Miami leads 12–5–1[1] | ||||||||