What CardinalAuthority Saw From Louisville's Win Over Villanova
Summary
Pick/market: 24 Louisville took care of business against Villanova in its home opener on Friday night.
No. 24 Louisville took care of business against Villanova in its home opener on Friday night. The Cards scored eight touchdowns in a 59-13 rout of the Wildcats.
After the game, CardinalAuthority's Jacob Polacheck and Michael McCammon shared their thoughts on the game. Here's what we saw.
Can We Say Enough About Lincoln Kienholz? Lincoln Kienholz has arrived. What more is there to say about this guy? After an eye-opening Louisville debut against Ole Miss last week, Kienholz got even better on Friday night.
He completed 11-of-15 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 41 yards and two more scores. His first two games as a Cardinal have made history, and there's more tests coming. Time will tell if Kienholz can replicate these performances against SMU next week, but he's off to about as good a start as you can hope.
-Jacob Polacheck
Penalties, Again!
Five days after penalties were a leading concern following the season-opening loss to Ole Miss, the Cardinals did it again.
Louisville committed seven penalties for 90 yards against Villanova on Friday night. Even more concerning is that two were unsportsmanlike calls and another two were personal fouls. Those aren't mistakes; those are choices.
It will remain a point of emphasis for the team.
"I don't know if I can talk about them anymore," Brohm said. "We've stressed it, we talked about it, we still had some dumb ones. It's a little frustrating. So, we got to work through it, and we got to be smarter.
"Maybe I shouldn't talk about it as much because I just think every individual has to do their part. Stay within the game, in between the whistles. When something bad happens, they can't react. When something good happens, they can't showboat. All that little stuff, and we got to get better at it. We got to clean that up for sure."
Through two games, Louisville has been penalized 16 times for 162 yards. That's nearly the most in the nation, in both categories.
-Michael McCammon
Louisville's Offensive Ceiling Extends Beyond Isaac Brown
Heading into the 2026 season, all eyes were on Louisville running back Isaac Brown. And while Brown has struggled, only totaling 27 carries for 97 yards in two games, the offense hasn't missed a beat. Louisville had two other running backs score on Friday night, with Braxton Jennings and Marquise Davis finding the end zone. Louisville had 635 total yards last night amid a pedestrian performance from Brown. If he gets going, this offense's ceiling is limitless.
-Jacob Polacheck
Red Zone Perfection
Louisville maximized its scoring opportunities by going a flawless 7-for-7 in the red zone. This included six touchdowns and one field goal, ensuring drives consistently ended in points.
Five of the red zone scores came on the ground, with Davin Wydner connecting with Braxton Jennings for the lone Red Zone passing touchdown. Carson Hilbert's first-quarter field goal was the first Red Zone score of the day.
Louisville is now 9 for 9 in the Red Zone through two games, with seven of those being touchdowns.
-Michael McCammon
There Are Still Concerns
I hate taking too much from a blowout win over an FCS opponent, but there were a few signs of concern from Louisville on Friday night. As Michael mentioned, penalties were a big issue for the Cards on Friday night. Louisville also let Villanova pull within a one-touchdown deficit on a 65-yard touchdown caused by a coverage breakdown. Eventually Louisville settled in, only allowing 126 yards after the opening minute of the second quarter, but teams like SMU and others in the ACC will better capitalize on those mistakes. This team will need to be more disciplined if it hopes to find itself in the College Football Playoff this season.
-Jacob Polacheck
Consistent Tre Richardson
While other receivers caught the deep bombs, Richardson served as the high-volume chain mover. He secured a game-high 7 receptions on 7 targets for 98 yards, providing consistent yardage.
Earlier in the week, position coach Deion Branch said he'd like to see the receivers get more yards after the catch. Richardson gained 82 of his 98 yards after the catch. In doing so, he accounted for five first downs against Villanova.
Through two games, Richardson has 11 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown.
-Michael McCammon
View original →
Teams:
Louisville
concernsdefenselbmentions_ole_missmentions_smumentions_stanfordoffensepredictionrb