A sloppy Thursday night opener at Pittsburgh set the tone for another uneven week for ACC quarterbacks, but the top of the league’s pecking order is starting to sharpen. Through three weeks, Darian Mensah has been the cleanest operator, Lincoln Kienholz has kept climbing, and the Week 4 slate brings a few more chances for movement before conference play starts to bite.
Mensah remains the standard at the top. His completion percentage through three weeks sits at 89.9%, the best in college football, and the bulk of his 30 completions against Wake Forest came on shorter throws that his receivers turned into bigger gains, including Malachi Toney.
Miami now gets Central Michigan in its second non-conference game of the season on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. EDT on CW, and Mensah’s day should end early for the third time this year.
Kienholz has been the biggest riser. After outdueling Kevin Jennings and SMU last week, he keeps moving up because he’s doing damage in more than one way.
He has made plays with his legs, threaded passes into tight windows, and delivered one of the prettier throws of the week on a first-half over-the-shoulder touchdown to Lawayne McCoy. Louisville opens ACC play against Wake Forest on Saturday at noon EDT on ESPN, and the Demon Deacons have already shown they’ve struggled to slow down quarterbacks over the last two weeks.
Kienholz is also the first one they’ve seen who can threaten them on the ground.
Jennings, meanwhile, was busy but costly in Louisville’s 41-31 win. He flashed plenty of arm talent, but the mistakes mattered more.
His first interception sailed too far for the receiver to do anything with it, then he lost the ball while crossing the goal line on a drive that would have trimmed the margin to a field goal, and he ended the night by throwing the game-sealing interception on the next series. SMU hosts Missouri State in its second non-conference game of the season at 9 p.m.
EDT on ACC Network, and Jennings likely won’t need to play long with the conference opener against Boston College looming.
Gio Lopez still holds the No. 8 spot despite a costly game-sealing interception. The mistake was bad, but other quarterbacks in the mix have been rougher through three weeks.
Lopez has already shown enough to matter in wins over Akron and Purdue, and his 312-yard outing helped make Wake Forest’s loss to Miami look more respectable. Wake Forest heads to Louisville for its ACC road opener at noon EDT on ESPN, with the Cardinals’ defense already having seen Trinidad Chambliss and Kevin Jennings this season.
At Virginia, Beau Pribula couldn’t get much going on the ground against West Virginia, which is a key part of both his game and the Cavaliers’ offense. He did finish 21-of-33 for 197 yards and two touchdowns, with the second one squeezed through traffic to tight end John Rogers.
Virginia closes non-conference play at home against Delaware at 6 p.m. EDT on ACC Network.
The Blue Hens faced Vanderbilt in Week 2, though the Commodores didn’t turn to Jared Curtis as their permanent starter until last week.
Ethan Grunkemeyer helped Virginia Tech cruise past Maryland, 35-26, in the Hokies’ non-conference finale. His 339-yard, three-touchdown night featured several high-difficulty throws along the sideline and an 18-yard touchdown run that showed off his movement early in the second quarter. Virginia Tech starts ACC play at Boston College on Saturday at noon EDT on ACC Network, and the Eagles split their non-conference games against Cincinnati and Rutgers.
Pittsburgh’s Mason Heintschel dealt with wet conditions again and never really found a rhythm against Syracuse. He finished 10-of-23 for 123 yards and threw an interception right to a Syracuse defender, though he still managed 41 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Panthers finish non-conference play against Bucknell at noon EDT on ACCNX, and if they build a big enough lead, Heintschel may not need to finish the game.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s day was cut short in California’s 49-7 win over Wagner, ending in the middle of the third quarter. The Golden Bears didn’t need much from the passing game, with their longest completions coming on screens, but Sagapolutele did connect with Cooper Perry on a fade to the back right corner of the end zone late in the first half.
California hosts Clemson in its ACC home opener on Friday at 10:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN, and the Tigers have already played Sam Leavitt and Billy Edwards at quarterback in sloppy conditions this season.
The Week 4 ACC quarterback board is still fluid, but the early shape is clear: Mensah is setting the pace, Kienholz is pushing upward fast, and several others are still trying to clean up the mistakes that have already changed games.
In Other News...
Louisville Is Surging For An Elite PG But The Race Is Tight
Louisvilles push for the 2027 class has put the program squarely in the mix for one of the top young point guards in the country. Reese Alston has already taken in several major stops, including Purdue, LSU, Tennessee and Kentucky, and the Cardinals have done enough to stay in the conversation as the recruiting battle takes shape. Analysts from On3 Sports and Fox Sports have both pointed to Louisville as a program building real momentum here.
What makes this one worth watching is how crowded the field remains, even with the Cardinals gaining traction. Louisville has locked in one of Alstons official visits and has made his final seven, which is the kind of position every staff wants this early in the process. For now, the Cardinals have put themselves in a strong place with an elite lead guard target, but the race is still open enough that every next step matters. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Gets An Early Test That Could Define Its National Hype
Louisvilles early-season spotlight figures to burn a little brighter with a high-profile nonconference test on the calendar, and the timing could hardly be more demanding. The Cardinals are already navigating a packed stretch that includes a Thanksgiving-week tournament in Las Vegas, so by the time a marquee opponent arrives in town, they will have been asked to show depth, poise and staying power against quality competition.
Texas trip to Louisville adds another layer to a schedule that is built to answer real questions fast. A nationally televised meeting in early December will give both programs a clear early read on where they stand, and Louisville still has another major challenge waiting right after it, with a game against defending national champion Michigan in Detroit soon after the Texas matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Second Quarter Exposed One Problem And One Intriguing Wrinkle
Louisvilles second quarter against SMU offered a little of everything the Cardinals needed to sort through after the fact: a coverage bust that opened the door for a score, a defense that showed it can still disguise looks well enough to create turnovers, and a few coaching wrinkles that made the whole sequence worth replaying. In a half where every assignment mattered, the Cardinals got a reminder that the margin between a clean snap and a damaging play can be razor-thin.
The film also showed why this staff keeps leaning on teaching points instead of just results. Jeff Brohm and Mark Ivey had Louisville working through coverage shells and pressure looks, and one design in particular stood out for how it tried to change the picture before the snap. For a defense that is still refining its communication, the larger question is whether the Cardinals can clean up the leak without losing the kind of deception that can flip a drive in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]