Louisville’s offense has found its spark, and Isaac Brown is the name driving it.
Brown picked up another stack of honors after his eruption against Florida State, landing ACC Running Back of the Week, ESPN’s Heisman Winner of the Week and the Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week. Louisville guard Lance Robinson also got in on the recognition, taking ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors and the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week. It’s the second time this season the Cardinals have swept the ACC’s weekly offensive awards.
The timing could hardly be better for Louisville. Whether Jeff Brohm or Brian Brohm is the one handling the play calls, the ground game has become the engine the Cardinals need going forward. After the Florida State game, the Pro Football Network grades made one thing pretty clear: Louisville’s secondary looks a lot better when Tayon Holloway is healthy at cornerback.
Brown’s rise has been a steady one, even if the start of this season didn’t look like the version Louisville needed. He arrived at the program with a résumé that already included ACC Rookie of the Year honors and Freshman All-American status in 2024.
That debut season flashed big-play ability right away, with his third career carry going for 36 yards and his fifth turning into a 77-yard touchdown. By the end of the year, he had piled up 1,325 yards from scrimmage, 12 touchdowns and a handful of useful kickoff returns.
His sophomore year opened much the same way, with a 68-yard touchdown on his sixth carry, but injuries cut into his workload. Then came a sluggish first month of his junior season, when Brown managed only 4.1 yards per carry and 238 yards from scrimmage across Louisville’s first four games as the Cardinals fell to 2-2.
Everything changed against NC State in Week 5, when Brown ripped off runs of 24, 20 and 70 yards in a loss. A week later, against Florida State, he was the best player on the field by a wide margin. Louisville trailed 14-0 and had just survived a desperate fourth-down stop when Brown exploded on the first snap of the next drive.
From there, the game tilted hard. Brown’s long touchdown jolted Louisville into a 44-6 surge, and he added a 71-yard kickoff return in the second half to set up an easy score. He later closed the night with another long touchdown, finishing with nobody in the Florida State frame but green grass behind him.
That kind of speed changes what an offense can be. Louisville may not have the defense or the consistency to climb fully back into the ACC race, but with Brown healthy, the Cardinals have one of the most explosive offenses in college football. In Week 6, he looked like the sport’s most outstanding player.
The rest of the week around the program includes Louisville’s trip to Syracuse on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, plus volleyball against Duke on Friday and North Carolina on Sunday, men’s soccer at Clemson on Friday, field hockey against Duke on Saturday, and the Louisville Fall Tournament in lacrosse over the weekend. Men’s tennis also stays busy at the Lexington Futures and the MTSU Invitational, while rowing heads to the Head of Charles Regatta and men’s golf plays in The Williams Cup.
Elsewhere around the Louisville orbit, former Trinity High baseball standout Dillon Lawson has been named hitting coach of the Miami Marlins after working for the Yankees and as assistant hitting coach for the Red Sox. The Kentucky Derby Museum also set a record with 266,035 guests in fiscal 2026, topping its previous high from 2019.
And in basketball news, the first KenPom rankings of the season have Louisville at No. 17 without Seth Trimble and LJ Wells, while point guard Quinn Ellis has reportedly been cleared to play for St. John’s this season.
On the football side, Clev Lubin is currently leading the FBS in quarterback pressures, and Karter Knox says he feels very confident about Louisville’s chances against Kentucky and everyone else this season.
In Other News...
Louisvilles Turnaround Gives Jeff Brohm Fans A Reason To Believe
Louisville spent the second half looking like a different team, and that was the encouraging part of a game that began with plenty of uneven moments. After a slow start, the Cardinals settled in on both sides of the ball, with the offense finding more rhythm and the running game becoming a real factor as multiple players reached the end zone.
Jeff Brohms decision to hand playcalling duties to the offensive coordinator added a new wrinkle to how Louisville operated, and the results were hard to miss once the game turned. The defense also answered after a critical stop, tightening up enough to keep the opponent from moving the ball the way it had early and giving the Cardinals a stretch of control they could build on. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Fans Can Grab A New Way To Get Ready For Tipoff
University of Louisville fans looking for a little extra game-day flair can now pick up the Cardinals 2026-27 mens basketball schedule poster for free at more than 40 Kroger locations in Louisville and Southern Indiana, while supplies last. The posters are also being handed out at home games, giving supporters another easy way to get ready for the season before the first tip.
There is plenty to circle on the calendar already, starting with an exhibition game at Kansas on Oct. 21 and a home exhibition against Mercyhurst on Oct. 28. Louisville then opens the official season against Chattanooga on Nov. 2, giving fans a quick preview of what the new year could look like before the real schedule gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Karter Knox Is Already Fueling Louisvilles Kentucky Confidence
Louisvilles roster overhaul has already given Pat Kelsey plenty to sort through as he gets ready for the 2026-27 season, and the first real checkpoint comes Oct. 21 with an exhibition against Kansas. The Cardinals have brought in eight transfers, including a few names that should help raise the ceiling right away, with Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad and Karter Knox standing out among the additions.
Knox, in particular, has added an edge to the conversation around the rivalry with Kentucky. With his brother Kevin Knox II having played for the Wildcats, he has already signaled plenty of confidence that Louisville can change its recent fortunes in the series and snap an eight-game road losing streak, a familiar burden that still hangs over the matchup. For a team trying to establish a new identity under Kelsey, that kind of early belief matters almost as much as the talent itself. [Read more 🡒]