Louisville comes into Friday night with a simple assignment against Villanova: clean up the mess from Sunday, keep the good parts, and leave healthy.
That’s easier said than done, because the loss in Nashville was built on mistakes that directly handed Ole Miss points and stalled the Cards on offense. The penalties stood out immediately.
Louisville burned drives with delay of game flags while moving the ball, got hit with holding calls that wiped out momentum, and then added a late hit out of bounds from Jabari Mack that stood out as one of the most selfish penalties around. DJ Waller followed that with a decision you’d expect from a freshman, not a veteran.
The problems weren’t limited to the players. Jeff Brohm also had to wear some of it, starting the game by struggling to get calls in on time and, at times, making things too complicated for his young quarterback. Louisville didn’t speed the tempo up quickly enough, and that let Lincoln Kienholz settle in.
Defensively, Mark Ivey mixed things up well overall, but one bad call put Myles Norwood in press coverage against Deuce Alexander, and that was never going to be a fair fight. Norwood struggled, but the truth is no one on the UofL roster could have matched Alexander in press coverage. Ivey also leaned too hard on cover 3, and Ole Miss eventually sorted it out even when the coverage was disguised.
Still, the bigger takeaway from Sunday wasn’t that Louisville got steamrolled. It was that the Cards played well enough to win if they clean up the errors. Bill Connelly’s metrics had Ole Miss with a win expectancy of 35%, which means Louisville should have had a 65% chance to win based on the numbers.
That’s why this game against Villanova matters. It’s not the place to unveil a bunch of new wrinkles. It is the place to sharpen what already worked.
Once Kienholz settled down, the offense showed real promise. He handled the option concepts well and showed he can throw to different levels of the field. His sideline throws were right on target, and his improvisation on the throw to Isaac Brown was exactly the kind of play Louisville wants to see from him.
There was also encouraging work up front on defense, especially in the interior. That was an area that looked shaky entering the season, but the rotation plan paid off in game one.
Louisville kept bodies fresh, got strong production from its depth, and controlled the line of scrimmage against the run. The Cards didn’t let runners fall forward for extra yards in a pile, and they were stronger and more physical than a group of returning starters from an SEC playoff team.
The challenge now is making sure the good parts don’t disappear while the staff irons out the bad ones. A step back in passing efficiency or run defense would be a bad sign with SMU looming.
Health matters here, too. Louisville has been burned by injuries in recent years, with the running backs last year still fresh in everyone’s memory and players like Jamari Thrash, Jamari Johnson, Jaden Thompson, and others missing time in seasons that were affected by those absences.
The Cards have depth in a lot of places, but the snap counts and depth chart make it clear they’ll be leaning heavily on starters at wide receiver, offensive line, and safety. At the same time, this is a chance to get younger players on the field and see who can be trusted this year.
And if Louisville doesn’t handle Villanova cleanly, that would be a problem. The Cards went to Nashville and played well against a top-ten opponent.
They’ve got plenty left to play for. But Friday night against an FCS team in a stadium that likely won’t be full is exactly the kind of spot where flat energy can turn into a headache fast.
If the run game stalls, if the defense gives up an explosive play or two, if the penalties keep piling up, the whole thing can start to unravel. Louisville can’t treat this like a breather before SMU. It has to be a chance to reset.
In Other News...
Lamar Jackson Still Owns Louisvilles Modern Standard
Lamar Jacksons Louisville rsum still hangs over the program in the way truly rare careers do. During his time as the Cardinals quarterback from 2015 to 2017, he rewrote the record book with marks for rushing production that still serve as the programs modern measuring stick, and his rise from campus star to national name never really gave Louisville a chance to stop talking about him.
Even after he moved on as the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Jacksons footprint kept growing. His Heisman season and the honor Louisville later gave him with a retired jersey only reinforced how singular his run was, and it is hard for anyone wearing red and black now to avoid being measured against the standard he set. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Third Quarter Exposed Growth And Problems Fans Need To See
Louisvilles third quarter offered a little of everything fans have been waiting to see from this group: cleaner execution, clearer growth from individual players and a better sense of how the coaching staff wants the offense to function when things speed up. The games key snaps were spread across the board, from quarterback play to the work up front, and the film review points to a team still sorting itself out while also showing signs that the development is real.
Lincoln Kienholzs passing showed the kind of upside that can change how a game feels in a hurry, while Tre Richardson added to the mix with a scoring play that came after he slipped a tackle on a jet sweep. Those moments did not solve every issue, especially on the line and in the overall consistency department, but they did underline why this stretch mattered: Louisville got evidence of what it can be when the pieces start to connect, and also a reminder of how much sharper it still needs to become. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles CFP Hopes May Hinge On One Offensive Rebound
Jeff Brohm came away from Lincoln Kienholzs first career start against Ole Miss encouraged by the quarterbacks grit and determination, but the opener also showed how much Louisville still has to clean up if it wants to keep its College Football Playoff path on track. The Cardinals did not get the kind of smooth rhythm they need early in the game, and Brohm made clear there were things to refine as Kienholz settles into the job and the offense tries to find its footing.
The bigger concern may be getting Isaac Brown back to the version Louisville needs most. The star running back was limited on the ground against Ole Miss, a reminder of how much the Cardinals ceiling depends on a more productive rushing attack to take pressure off Kienholz. A more favorable matchup with Villanova is coming next, and for Louisville the question is whether Brown can rebound quickly enough to help turn one uneven offensive showing into something more stable. [Read more 🡒]