Louisville had the kind of opening-night loss that stings for a while: a 41-38 defeat to Ole Miss that was settled by a 48-yard game-winning field goal after the Rebels drove down the field in the final seconds.
The Cardinals showed plenty of fight in the fourth quarter, erasing a 14-point deficit with less than seven minutes left. They even pulled even at 1:28 remaining, only to watch Trinidad Chambliss and the Ole Miss offense answer one more time and finish the job.
If there was anything for Louisville to take from the night, it was the debut of Lincoln Kienholz.
The Ohio State transfer looked shaky early. He was clearly feeling out the moment in the first half, and Louisville’s offense never found its rhythm. The Cardinals managed just 83 total yards before halftime, the second-fewest under Jeff Brohm, and Kienholz went 0-for-6 on throws of 10 or more yards downfield.
After the break, though, the game changed. Kienholz settled in and started looking like the quarterback Louisville had hoped to get.
The 4-star transfer had not started a game since his senior year of high school, so some early rust was expected. Once he found his footing, the talent showed up in a big way.
He finished 18-of-29 for 307 passing yards, added 69 rushing yards, and accounted for three touchdowns - two through the air and one on the ground.
His best work came in the fourth quarter, when he repeatedly escaped pressure and made plays outside the pocket. One of those throws turned into a 54-yard touchdown to Florida State transfer Lincoln Kienholz.
After a defensive stop, Louisville got the ball back trailing by seven with three minutes left. Kienholz then led a seven-play, 77-yard march and capped it with a seven-yard quarterback draw for a touchdown. The Cardinals tied it moments later, and Kienholz again kept the play alive under pressure before finding Isaac Brown down the sideline for 32 yards, setting up the tying score.
Louisville still has plenty to clean up - penalties, special teams, and the little mistakes that can tilt a game like this. But after one week, the Cardinals have reason to feel good about their new QB1. A brutal loss is still a brutal loss, yet Kienholz gave them something real to build on.
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Louisville Saw Enough From Lincoln Keinholz To Fuel A Bigger Question
Lincoln Keinholzs first start for Louisville gave the Cardinals a real opening to assess where they stand at quarterback, and there was plenty to like in the way he settled in against Mississippi. The debut came in a high-scoring opener that asked a lot of him early, and he responded better as the game went on, showing clear progress in the second half as Louisville hung around in a back-and-forth matchup.
Jeff Brohm left the night with a familiar mix of encouragement and concern, praising the way his team competed while also pointing to the need for more plays against quality opponents. For Louisville, the bigger question now is not just what Keinholz showed in the opener, but how much of that performance can carry over when the schedule tightens and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Just Found A Quarterback Fans Can Dream On
Louisville came up just short in its Week 1 battle with Ole Miss, but the game still offered a glimpse of something the program has been searching for at quarterback. Lincoln Kienholz, the 4-star transfer from Ohio State making his first start, settled in quickly and gave the Cardinals a legitimate dual-threat presence, throwing for 307 yards while adding 69 on the ground.
The debut mattered because it showed Louisville more than survived a tough opening test against a ranked opponent, it found a passer who can tilt a game with both his arm and legs. Kienholzs production also put him in a rare category for the program, with the kind of early return that can change the feel around an offense even in a loss, and now the bigger question is how far that carryover can go once the schedule keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Just Took A Painful Recruiting Hit At Center
Louisvilles frontcourt recruiting board took a hit when five-star center Darius Wabbington backed away from the program, ending a run that had the Cardinals among his final six schools. Wabbington, one of the top centers in the country, had been scheduled to make an official visit on Sept. 11, but that stop is now off the calendar as Louisville loses ground in a pursuit that once looked promising.
The timing makes the setback sting a little more, because the Cardinals are still trying to stay active with another elite big man in Lewis Uvwo. Louisville has made a late push there, but Duke is currently out front, leaving the Cardinals searching for a way to recover from one miss while trying to keep another high-end option within reach. [Read more 🡒]