Louisville has found something dangerous in Lincoln Kienholz: a quarterback who keeps making plays without giving the ball away.
Through three games, the Ohio State transfer has put together a clean start for the Cardinals, stringing together three turnover-free outings while helping Louisville to a 2-1 record. He’s not just managing games, either. Kienholz has already carved out a place near the top of the ACC in efficiency, and he’s doing it with a mix of arm talent, mobility and a willingness to absorb contact that has teammates talking.
Kienholz has made history already, becoming the first Louisville quarterback to throw for 300 yards in his first two starts. He’s averaging 272 passing yards per game, which ranks sixth in the conference, and his 186.8 passer efficiency rating is third-best in the ACC.
Even more striking: he is one of only three ACC quarterbacks with at least six touchdown passes and no interceptions through the first three games, alongside Miami’s Darian Mensah and Virginia Tech’s Ethan Grunkemeyer. Kienholz has completed 48 of 73 passes, good for 65.8%, without an error.
That streak can extend to four straight games without an interception when Louisville hosts Wake Forest on Saturday at L&N Stadium. The opportunity is there, too.
The Demon Deacons are giving up the fifth-most passing yards in the ACC at 235 per game and have not intercepted a pass this season. Their only takeaway came on a fumble recovery in the opener against Akron.
If Kienholz stays clean again, he would become the first Louisville quarterback to start his first four games without an interception.
“Taking care of the ball is not easy to do, especially when it's in your hand every play as a passer and a runner. So he's been outstanding in that aspect,” UofL coach Jeff Brohm said.
“... I think his ability to scramble and create and make plays causes him not to throw the ball into traffic and go try to create something, which he's done an excellent job (of) to this point.”
That ability to create has been the calling card. Pro Football Focus has credited Kienholz with five big-time throws, defined as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.” Only Pitt’s Mason Heintschel has more in the ACC with six.
Some of Kienholz’s best work has come when a play breaks down. In the opener against Ole Miss, he escaped and fired a 54-yard touchdown to Lawayne McCoy. He later connected with McCoy again for a 33-yard score against SMU.
His legs have mattered just as much. Kienholz has picked up 36 yards on seven scrambles and leads the team with four rushing touchdowns.
Overall, he’s Louisville’s third-leading rusher with 153 yards on 32 carries. Eighty-two of those yards have come after contact, and that part of his game has been impossible to miss.
The list of defenders he’s stiff-armed and run through keeps growing, and Kienholz has said that fearlessness comes from growing up as a farm kid, where taking a hit and getting back up was part of life.
“I love playing with a tough guy like that,” offensive lineman Cason Henry said. "I think it makes my life a lot easier and hypes me up on the field when I see him stiff-arm somebody to the ground or run over somebody. I'm like, 'That's my quarterback, man.'”
Kienholz’s start has pushed him into the national conversation, too. College GameDay host Desmond Howard said over the weekend that “there’s never a dull play when Kienholz is behind center.” He also sits with the 13th-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, according to FanDuel, two spots behind former Ohio State teammate and 2025 Heisman finalist Julian Sayin.
“He's a big-time player, electric player, electrifying player,” Louisville safeties coach Brandon Sharp said of Kienholz. "...
The threat to run as a quarterback is very difficult for defenses. And it's showing up.
He's making a lot of big-time plays, big-time throws and big-time runs. So it's been exciting to see him have success.”
In Other News...
Louisville May Catch Wake Forest Without Its Biggest Offensive Threat
Louisville is getting ready for a Wake Forest offense that may look a lot different than usual, and the uncertainty starts at quarterback. Gio Lopez has been one of the key reasons the Demon Deacons have been able to push the ball through the air, ranking near the top of the ACC in passing yards and touchdowns.
Lopez has been playing with the hip issue for a while now, which makes his status even harder to read heading into the matchup. For Louisville, that leaves one of the more important questions in the game still hanging in the balance, because Wake Forests attack is not nearly the same if its most reliable offensive threat cannot go. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Second Quarter Exposed One Problem And One Intriguing Wrinkle
Louisvilles second quarter against SMU offered a sharp look at how thin the margin can be on defense, especially when the Cardinals are asked to sort out assignments on the fly. One series ended badly after a breakdown in the secondary, while another showed how quickly the same defense can flip the field when the call and the execution match up. In between, the game also gave a glimpse of how Jeff Brohm and his staff are trying to create edges with the offense, including a designed run look for Lincoln Kienholz that fit the broader chess match of the half.
The bigger takeaway for Louisville is that the tape contained both a warning and a small reward. The warning was simple enough: one lapse in coverage can undo everything else a defense does correctly. The reward was more subtle, and maybe more important for the long haul, because the Cardinals also showed they can still manufacture confusion and force mistakes when the disguise is right. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Has A Chance To Shake Up The Rivalry On Saturday
Louisvilles weekend matchup with Wake Forest carries a little extra recruiting weight, too, with the Cardinals set to host four-star safety Tristin Hughes on campus. The Ohio prospect has already drawn more than 25 offers and is regarded as one of the top recruits in the country as well as in his home state, making him the kind of prospect who can change the look of a class quickly if a program can make the right impression.
The visit matters even more because Louisville is pushing hard to build out its 2027 class and views Hughes as a major target. Adding a player with that profile would be a significant win for the Cardinals, especially with rivalry undertones always in the background when Kentucky is involved. Now the question is whether a strong weekend in Louisville can keep the momentum moving in the Cardinals direction. [Read more 🡒]