A wild ACC race ended with Duke taking home the conference championship this season, emerging from a crowded pack of contenders in a conference that cannibalized itself all season long.
One of the teams in that pack was Louisville. The Cardinals were right in the thick of the ACC title race after pulling a stunning midseason upset over Miami, but ended up falling apart in November and losing three games in a row after a 7-1 start to fall out of the race.
During the last of those three losses, a dreadful 38-6 loss to SMU on Nov. 22, start wide receiver Chris Bell suffered a torn ACL, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Bell was one of the top wide receivers in the country this season and has a chance to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but now he will not be able to participate in any of the on-field elements of the pre-draft process.
“Louisville’s Chris Bell, one of the top receiver prospects in the upcoming NFL draft, suffered a torn ACL in a game at SMU on Nov. 22, per @PeteThamel and me,” Schefter reported on X, formerly Twitter. “In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Field Yates projected Bell as a first-round pick.”
Bell is hoping that his film speaks for itself after an All-ACC season in which he caught 72 balls for 917 yards and six touchdowns. He is a big receiver at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds and is a fluid athlete on the outside, so he should still be an attractive option for NFL teams.
Bell is a part of a crowded crop of first-round prospects coming out this season. Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson declared for the NFL Draft on Wednesday, and USC's Makai Lemon and Ohio State's Carnell Tate are also projected to go as high as the top 10.
Louisville closed its regular season with a 41-0 win over rival Kentucky without Bell on the field. Jeff Brohm's squad will finish up its season on Dec. 23 in the Boca Raton Bowl against Toledo.
