Louisville’s first win of the season came in convincing fashion Friday night, with the Cardinals rolling past Villanova 59-13 to move to 1-1. Now the attention shifts fast to Week 3, and the next game carries a lot more weight: a home date with No. 17 SMU in what has been billed as one of the biggest ACC matchups of the season.
That’s what makes ESPN’s broadcast choice so puzzling. Instead of giving Louisville-SMU the prime TV spot, ESPN put the game on ESPN2 and elevated No. 10 Texas A&M vs. unranked Kentucky to ESPN.
It’s a strange call on the surface, especially with Louisville and SMU both expected to be in the mix near the top of the ACC. Coming into the season, Miami was the popular pick to reach the ACC Championship Game, but the second team was far less settled, with Louisville and SMU both viewed as serious candidates. That makes this Week 3 meeting feel like an early separator, since the winner gets the head-to-head edge in a game with major conference implications.
Louisville already showed in Week 1 that it can hang with elite competition, taking No. 9 Ole Miss to the final seconds. SMU brings its own ranking and its own expectations, which is why this game stands out as one of only three ranked-vs.-ranked matchups in Week 3.
The other part of the decision that raises eyebrows is Kentucky’s place in the lineup. The Wildcats are coming off a 45-17 loss to Alabama and are listed as a 15.5-point underdog against Texas A&M. Meanwhile, Louisville-SMU is expected to be tight, with the Cardinals favored by just 1.5 points.
That gap only makes the broadcast assignment look more baffling. A close-ranked matchup with ACC title implications was available, but ESPN chose to feature the top-10 team hosting an unranked opponent instead. For Louisville and SMU, the stage may be smaller than expected, even if the game itself is one of the weekend’s biggest.
In Other News...
Louisville May Be Building Serious Momentum For 5-Star PG Reese Alston
Louisvilles pursuit of five-star point guard Reese Alston has quietly become one of the more important recruiting threads around the program. The top-10 overall prospect in the 2027 class has drawn repeated attention from Pat Kelsey, who has already made multiple visits to see him, including one soon after Alstons official visit to LSU. For a staff trying to keep stacking talent at the top of the roster, that kind of persistent contact matters.
The Cardinals appear to have put themselves in a strong position, and the buzz around the recruitment has only grown as the process moves forward. College basketball insider Aaron Torres has voiced confidence in Louisvilles standing, which is exactly the kind of signal fans notice when a high-end guard starts narrowing in on a decision. The choice is still ahead, but Louisville has made this one feel like a race worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Still Has One Big Problem With SMU Up Next
Louisville left Villanova with a lopsided 59-13 win and a few encouraging signs, especially at quarterback and in the backfield. Lincoln Keinholz has already put his name in the school record book by topping 300 passing yards over his first two games, and freshman Marquise Davis along with sophomore Braxton Jennings each found the end zone multiple times in the latest rout.
Still, the Cardinals know the performance was not clean enough to carry into next weekend, when Southern Methodist arrives for the Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Louisville opened slowly and added more penalties than it could afford, the kind of slippage that tends to matter more once league play begins and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville's Offense Has A Clear Identity Entering ACC Play
Through the first two games, Jeff Brohms Louisville offense has made its identity pretty clear: create chunk plays and keep the pressure on defenses at every level. The Cardinals have leaned on a balanced mix of explosive passes and runs, with quarterback Lincoln Kienholz spreading the ball around to multiple playmakers while the offense piles up yardage at a fast clip.
That approach has already put Louisville near the top of the national numbers for longer gains, and it gives the Cardinals a defined path as ACC play begins. The encouraging part for Brohm is not just the volume of those explosive snaps, but the way different weapons have shown up in them, giving this offense a feel that could travel well once league opponents start loading up to take away the easy stuff. [Read more 🡒]