Louisville is heading into its bye week with something to feel good about: a spot back above .500 in both the overall record and the conference race, plus a two-game winning streak.
It just took a messy night to get there.
The Cardinals left Syracuse with a 34-26 road win Saturday night after surviving two turnovers, a handful of penalties that had been missing the previous two weeks, and what was described as arguably the worst outing of the season from quarterback Lincoln Kienholz.
And yet Louisville still found a way to grab control early after Syracuse came out swinging. A Lincoln Kienholz interception and two rough defensive possessions put the Cardinals in a 10-0 hole just 6:20 into the game, marking the second straight week Louisville had spotted an opponent a two-score lead.
From there, the offense steadied the ship. Kienholz led an 89-yard touchdown march in only five plays, and after the defense forced a stop, Louisville ripped off another fast strike - 90 yards in just three plays, with Kienholz doing the damage on an 82-yard run, the longest ever by a Cardinal quarterback.
The teams traded scores after that, but Louisville still carried a 28-23 lead into halftime thanks to a 46-yard touchdown grab by Isaac Brown.
The second half didn’t have the same pace. Both offenses stalled out, and the two teams combined for just nine points over the final two quarters. Louisville seemed to have things under control when Keyjuan Brown punched in a 5-yard touchdown run, but Carson Hilbert missed the extra point, leaving the door open at one score.
Syracuse still had two chances to pull even, but the Louisville defense held firm and shut the door.
In Other News...
Jeff Brohm Could Face A Whole New Standard At Louisville
A possible shift in the College Football Playoff picture could change the stakes for Jeff Brohm at Louisville in a big way. ESPN reported that the postseason may expand from 12 teams to 24, a move that would widen the path for programs like the Cardinals and give a coach with Brohms track record a clearer shot at turning steady progress into a playoff run.
Brohm would still have to navigate the same week-to-week grind, but the margin for error would shrink in a different way. If Louisville is going to take advantage of a larger field, it cannot afford too many slips, and the conversation around Brohm would quickly move from simply getting the Cardinals in the mix to making them a regular contender whenever the bracket opens up. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Faces A Huge ACC Test After Its Florida State Breakthrough
Louisville heads into Week 7 carrying real momentum after its breakthrough against Florida State, a win that gave the Cardinals a chance to reset the conversation around their season. Now the challenge shifts quickly to Syracuse, with Louisville trying to stack a second straight victory and prove the Florida State result was more than a one-game spike.
Syracuse brings a fresh test for a team still trying to show it can keep playing at that level week after week, and the matchup has enough intrigue to draw plenty of attention beyond the standings. The odds and scouting points will matter, but for Louisville the bigger question is whether the performance that lifted it over Florida State can travel into another ACC game and hold up under a different kind of pressure. [Read more 🡒]