The third quarter is where this one really opened up, and Louisville’s offense started finding its rhythm while Ole Miss’ defense began to crack. The result was a stretch of plays that said plenty about how the game was tilting.
One of the biggest moments came on a throw from Lincoln Kienholz that felt like a real line-in-the-sand play for him. The checkdown to Isaac Brown in the second quarter had already hinted at what he could be, but this was the pass that seemed to win over Louisville fans and players as a passer. It had the right pace, the right trajectory, and the right timing, landing exactly where only his receiver could get it.
Louisville kept leaning on motion and on the run game, and that work paid off on a jet sweep to Tre Richardson. Only one Ole Miss defender recognized it as a jet sweep, and Richardson ran straight through that tackle attempt on his way to the end zone. It was an impressive finish from a player who hasn’t exactly built his reputation on breaking tackles, and it felt like the kind of play that could lead to more jet sweeps and option looks as the season moves on.
That wasn’t the only time Jeff Brohm used earlier tendencies to set up something bigger. Louisville had spent enough of the game running the ball that Ole Miss was locked in on those handoffs, which made the Rebels bite when the Cards came back with motion and misdirection.
Lawayne McCoy’s motion, followed by Richardson’s, helped sell it. By then, the defense had seen so much movement that it stopped reacting the way it should have.
There were also individual performances that stood out on both sides. Daylen Russell gave Louisville exactly the kind of snap it needs from him, especially with Demeco Kennedy out for a few weeks.
He got into the center’s pads quickly, used his leverage well, tossed the center aside, and then finished the tackle under control. For a player who hasn’t logged many college snaps, that was a strong showing.
On the other side, Trinidad Chambliss kept flashing why he’s so dangerous. On one throw, he held nearly everyone in the middle of the field with his eye discipline before firing a pass between Stanquan Clark and Bryson Scott well before his receiver had even cleared Clark. Deuce Alexander handled the rest, using his speed to take it down the sideline.
That play also exposed two Louisville issues that showed up again and again. The defensive line has to generate pressure with four rushers, and on Sunday that group simply wasn’t good enough.
Then there was the coverage mistake from Koen Entringer, who appeared to turn his hips and then had to recover. With DJ Waller in the deep third to the field side and Alexander crossing the field, Entringer should have been getting depth down the middle.
Instead, the touchdown was there.
Louisville’s line, though, did create some clean work in the run game. On one play, Johnnie Brown did a strong job as a pulling guard, getting around the edge and helping wash the defense out.
Lance Robinson and Eryx Daughtery held their blocks long enough to form the wall that Brown turned into. It was the kind of blocking that made the whole thing click.
Keyjuan Brown then showed something Louisville will want to keep seeing: patience. He let his blockers sort things out, throttled down instead of rushing into traffic, pressed the seam, and then ran through a tackle to pick up a first down.
That looked like real growth, not just a one-off. Instead of bouncing it outside or crashing into his own linemen, he waited, then attacked the opening.
Not everything in the quarter was clean, of course. One of the uglier moments came when Jabari Mack drew a selfish penalty after clearly seeing Chambliss heading out of bounds.
Chambliss had already given up on the play and was looking toward the sideline, and Mack still threw his shoulder into him. For the most veteran player on the team, that’s the kind of mistake Louisville can’t afford.
Brohm kept making defenders pay for overcommitting to earlier looks, and another jet action to Richardson showed it again. The entire defense flowed outside except for two players, and Kienholz had a clear lane through the middle.
He also looked fast enough in the open field to turn that kind of space into something bigger. Even in open practices, it was hard to get a true read on his speed, but this play made it clear he can outrun plenty of defenders.
If only #14 had been the only one left, he might have had a chance to finish it with a stiff arm and pure speed.
The third quarter also got rough for Myles Norwood. In press-man with safety help behind him, he got beaten past his face on an in route and couldn’t recover.
The technique wasn’t good, and the way he nearly fell backward when the receiver got by him said plenty. He needed to get hands on the receiver or force him inside toward the boundary.
Norwood had another difficult snap later, though this one was less about his own failure and more about the matchup. He simply couldn’t stay with Alexander. The bigger issue was that nobody on the defense looked like they had much of a chance against that speed anyway, which made the press look like a bad choice from the start.
That was the kind of spot where the new defensive staff seemed to let one slip. Norwood had already been out there for multiple plays, so this wasn’t some emergency replacement situation.
Steve Ellis and Mark Ivey should have put him in a better position with off coverage. Even a five-yard cushion would have given him a better shot to stay in phase and use the sideline.
Instead, Louisville gave up an easy touchdown.
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