Louisville’s season has taken a noticeable turn over the last two weeks, and the timing could not be better with a bye on deck.
The Cardinals have strung together two straight wins, including a long-awaited breakthrough at Syracuse, and that matters because this team had already been through three one-possession losses by three points apiece. It wasn’t always clean, especially in the second half against the Orange, but Louisville finally found a way to finish one off. With five regular-season games left, the Cardinals come out of the break at home against Stanford before a two-week road trip to Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
After a rocky opening stretch, Louisville now has a chance to make the late-season push head coach Jeff Brohm will be looking for. Reaching nine wins would give the program that mark for the fourth time in Brohm’s tenure.
Offensively, the Cardinals have been far more reliable than the rest of the roster. Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has been the engine, and even with a quiet outing at Syracuse, his first season with meaningful college reps has been impressive. The Ohio State transfer opened his Cardinals career with back-to-back 300-yard passing games and is averaging 263.4 passing yards per game.
He’s not doing it alone. Lawayne McCoy and Tre Richardson have stepped forward as the top two receivers, with McCoy stretching the field and Richardson separating with speed. McCoy leads the team with 513 receiving yards and is averaging 20.5 yards per catch, while Richardson has 493 yards on 30 receptions.
The ground game has helped keep the offense balanced. Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown have carried that load, though their paths have looked different.
Isaac Brown was dealing with grief early in the season, and that clearly affected his play, but he has settled in over the last few weeks and posted a career-high 235 rushing yards against Florida State. Keyjuan Brown is also putting together a career year at 8.2 yards per carry, though injuries kept him out against the Seminoles.
Syracuse’s run defense slowed the duo down, so Louisville will need more consistency there the rest of the way.
The biggest concern has been on defense, where Louisville spent the first part of the season giving up too many explosive passes and not enough disruption up front. Through five weeks, the Cardinals were allowing a program-worst 266.8 passing yards per game, with 13 completions of at least 30 yards, six of 40 or more and four of 50-plus.
That forced a shift. Brohm stepped away from offensive play-calling to get more involved on defense and assist Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis, both in their first season as co-defensive coordinators at the Power Four level. Louisville has also leaned more heavily on wristbands, which has improved communication and helped reduce the risk of sign stealing.
The results have been encouraging. The Cardinals are still chasing fewer busted coverages and cleaner play against the pass, but the pass rush has picked up with nine sacks over the last two games. Just as important, Louisville held both Florida State and Syracuse below their scoring averages.
Special teams has settled in better than expected, too. Australia native Niall Hayes has adjusted nicely, averaging 40.0 yards per punt and putting four kicks inside the 20.
Carson Hilbert took over the kicking job and is 7 for 9 on field goals, highlighted by a career-long 54-yarder against Wake Forest. He and Nick Keller each missed one in that loss, and Hilbert also had an extra point miss.
Hayes had his own rough stretch against Syracuse, which is another issue Louisville will want to clean up during the open week.
Isaac Brown has also been a bright spot in the return game, piling up 163 kickoff return yards on six attempts. Jackson Voth has handled punt returns more recently and is averaging 8.2 yards per return.
All told, Louisville’s grade reflects a team that has not quite lived up to expectations but has started to correct course. The Cardinals’ two ACC losses likely keep them out of the ACC championship game, and the three overall defeats almost certainly remove College Football Playoff at-large hopes, though the ACC champion will earn an automatic berth.
Even so, the recent turnaround deserves credit, especially after the way the first half of the season went. Now the challenge is keeping that improvement going when the final month arrives.
In Other News...
Louisville Just Got A Huge Seth Trimble Boost For This Season
Louisville picked up a major roster boost when Judge Brian Edwards of the Jefferson County Circuit Court granted Seth Trimble eligibility to play for the Cardinals under the five-for-five rule. For a team looking to stay competitive this season, getting that ruling in place removes an important uncertainty and gives Louisville another player it can count on as it builds out the rotation.
Trimbles availability comes amid a busy stretch around the program, with other former and current Cardinals making news of their own. Ryan Conwell closed his NBA preseason with 21 points for the Miami Heat, while Louisville football quarterback Lincoln Kienholz added to the schools momentum by setting a program record with an 82-yard rushing touchdown in a win over Syracuse. For the basketball side, though, the Trimble decision is the one that could matter most right away. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Kelseys New-Look Louisville Team Faces An Early Contender Test
Pat Kelseys first Louisville team is getting thrown right into the fire, with a preseason matchup against Kansas serving as an early measuring stick for a roster that looks nothing like last years. The Cardinals enter the season ranked No. 11 in the first AP Poll and have overhauled the lineup with 11 new players, giving Kelsey plenty to sort out before the games start counting for real.
The bigger picture is just as demanding, because Louisville is not easing into anything. The schedule is loaded with ranked opponents, which will quickly show whether this group can come together fast enough to compete at the level Kelsey is aiming for. For a team with Final Four ambitions, the first real test comes early, and it should say plenty about how far this rebuild can go. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Syracuse Win Left One Big Question About This Team
Louisvilles 34-26 road win at Syracuse on Oct. 17 showed the kind of resolve Jeff Brohm has been looking for all season. After falling behind 10-0 early, the Cardinals leaned on a defense that forced three takeaways and turned up the pass rush with a season-high five sacks, while Lincoln Kienholz kept the offense moving through the air and on the ground.
Brian Brohm handling play-calling duties for the second straight week was another notable wrinkle, especially with the offense finding answers in a game it had to come back to win. Kienholzs performance, including his 82-yard rushing touchdown, gave Louisville a big late-season boost, but it also left a larger question hanging over the program as the Cardinals try to figure out what this version of the offense should look like moving forward. [Read more 🡒]