Lincoln Kienholz Has Started the Season Red-Hot, But Has More TD Celebrations to Come
Summary
Pick/market: Lincoln Kienholz scored four touchdowns in one half on Friday night against Villanova.
Lincoln Kienholz scored four touchdowns in one half on Friday night against Villanova. Somehow, he still has a touchdown celebration he's waiting to use.
After Kienholz capped his 374-yard, four-touchdown performance in No. 24 Louisville's 59-13 win over Villanova with his second rushing touchdown, he broke out what he called the "Weezy dance." It wasn't the celebration he had planned heading into the game.
"I definitely had something planned, and I actually didn't use it tonight," Kienholz said. "I think there's just different things that kind of pop into the head."
There should be no shortage of future opportunities if Kienholz continues to play like this. Through his first-ever two games as a starter, Kienholz has completed 29 of 44 passes for 583 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. He's added 110 yards and three scores on the ground, giving him 693 total yards and seven touchdowns to start the year.
Kienholz completed 11-of-15 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns against Villanova while rushing for 41 yards and two more scores. Even more impressively, all of those stats came in the first half as Louisville built a 38-10 advantage.
According to ESPN insights, Kienholz is the first Louisville player since Lamar Jackson in 2016 to record 275 passing yards, two-plus passing touchdowns, and two-plus rushing touchdowns in a half.
Kienholz's home debut didn't start as smoothly as the final stat line might suggest. He missed a couple of open throws on Louisville's opening drive before finding his footing.
"I think I was just thinking too much," Kienholz said. "Next time, I think next time I've just got to start fast, go out there and just play football. I've done it my whole life, so it's not going to change by a five-yard pass."
When Kienholz settled in, Villanova had no answers for him. He scored on a 19-yard run to give Louisville a 10-3 lead, then found tight end Jaleel Skinner for a 69-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. On Louisville's next offensive snap, Kienholz connected with wide receiver Lawayne McCoy for a 61-yard touchdown.
"The more he runs and gets in the flow and gets hit, he gets better," Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm said. "I thought after that he was really sharp, ran the ball well, made good reads, and threw the ball well up the field."
Expectations continue to climb for Kienholz. Louisville's opener against Ole Miss saw Kienholz throw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, with 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground, becoming the first Louisville quarterback to surpass 300 yards passing in a season opener. The Villanova game reinforced those expectations. Now, the tests continue. Louisville faces SMU in its ACC opener on Saturday, Sept. 19. Maybe Kienholz will unveil that other celebration he's been holding back.
View original →
Teams:
Louisville
depth_chartlbmentions_ole_missmentions_smuoffensepredictionqbtewr