—Spread check: Louisville by 12.5.
—Through three games, Lincoln Kienholz has been physical, electric and perhaps most importantly, clean in his play style.
—Kaleb Beasley has been named
the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, and KeyJuan Brown has been named the Doak Walker Award National Running Back of the Week. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even on the Doak Walker preseason watch list.—This is the Lincoln Kienholz throw of throws up to this point in his (very early) career.
—Eric Crawford writes that Louisville’s defense is better than the numbers say it is … probably.
—The Louisville men’s soccer team remained unbeaten with a 3-0 winover Belmont Monday night.
—With official practice starting yesterday, Issaac Trotter of CBS looks at the biggest preseason position battles on every power conference men’s college basketball team.
Louisville
Projected starting lineup
- G Jackson Shelstad
- G Seth Trimble (if eligible)
- G Karter Knox
- F Alvaro Folgueiras
- F Flory Bidunga
Top reserves: G Adrian Wooley, G De’Shayne Montgomery, C Obinna Ekezie Jr., F Boyuan Zhang, G Isaac Ellis, C Gabe Dynes, F LJ Wells (if eligible)
Biggest preseason battle: Karter Knox and Adrian Wooley are both capable of starting for a Louisville club that should rank inside the top-10 in the preseason polls. Knox provides floor-spacing, size and a bigger body. Wooley is more of a slasher and could help solve some of the creation questions that remain for Louisville. This is all a moot point if Seth Trimble doesn’t get an injunction for a fifth year of eligibility.
—CFB KIngs has Lincoln Kienholz at No. 2 in its weekly Heisman Watch. Miami QB Darian Mensah is the only player above Kienholz.
—Former Card Wesley Bailey notched his first career NFL sack Monday night.
—Imagine that.
—It’s pretty rare for a Kentucky fan to be the victim in a “I can’t believe a fan did that” news story, but here’s one of the exceptions.
—The Louisville field hockey team is up two spots to No. 10 in this week’s national poll.
—With women’s soccer entering this week’s coaches poll at No. 13, all seven of Louisville’s currently active team sports find themselves ranked somewhere in the nation’s top 20.
—I have what I think is a pretty effective counter-argument to Rece here.
—With Miller Moss being elevated to the Bears’ active roster last week, Moss is in line to serve as the team’s backup QB for Monday night’s game against Philadelphia.
—As official practice begins for the Louisville men’s basketball team, Flory Bidunga appears to be the first Cardinal to receive the gold jersey treatment.
—U of L is up to No. 2 in USA Today’s weekly ACC power rankings.
—Is this good?
Seems pretty good.
—Louisville is the 11-seed in Sports Illustrated’s latest playoff projection.
—The advanced stats say Louisville-SMU was essentially a coin flip game. Turnovers and explosive plays won the day for the Cards.
—On3 names Louisville as its “Best Crowd” in its weekly college football superlatives.
—LeBatard and company get it.
—Louisville commit Ferlandes Wright talks aboutbeing back at Fairdale for his final season of high school ball, and how he sees his future with the Cards.
—US News & World Report has ranked the University of Louisville in its 2027 Best Colleges top 100 public schools and top 100 best value lists. U of L was named Kentucky’s Best Value School among national universities.
—Episode 2 of Cards on the Table, following the Louisville women’s basketball team, is out now.
—More Jeff Brohm/Louisville love from the college football world:
—Dennis Dodd has Lincoln Kienholz at No. 8 in his weekly Heisman rankings.
—The S&P Ratings like Louisville by 12 over Wake on Saturday.
—If SMU has learned anything in two seasons in the ACC, it’s that the difference between being a CFP team and having a mediocre season can come down to a few decisions. The Mustangs can only hope those season-defining moments are still ahead of them and didn’t happen on Saturday against the Cards.
—Luke Loucks is on the list now.
—The Three-Man Weave previews the 2026-27 ACC in video form.
—Through three weeks, Louisville ranks fourth in the ACC in TV Viewership.
—Former Louisville ball carrier Duke Watson hit the fastest MPH speedof any player in college football last weekend.
—Evan Miyakawa has Louisville at No. 11 in his preseason college hoops rankings.
—This is wild, but extremely cool.
—SI’s Ian Macmillanlikes Louisville to cover the spread against Wake on Saturday.
—The Big Lead is taking the Cards over the Deacs by two touchdowns.
—Louisville field hockey’s Emily Young was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
—The rest of this week in Cardinal athletics:
Thursday, September 24
- Swimming & Diving at College Swimming League (Westmont, Ill.)
- Softball at Indiana – 6:30 p.m. ET (Bloomington, Ind.)
Friday, September 25
- Men’s Tennis at Fighting Irish Mini Duals (South Bend, Ind.)
- Field Hockey at California – 5 p.m. ET (Berkeley, Calif.)
- Volleyball at Syracuse 6 p.m. ET (Syracuse, N.Y.)
- Men’s Soccer at Pittsburgh – 7 p.m. ET (Pittsburgh)
Saturday, September 26
- Football vs Wake Forest – 12 p.m. ET (L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
- Men’s Tennis at Fighting Irish Mini Duals (South Bend, Ind.)
- Women’s Golf at Fighting Irish Classic (South Bend, Ind.)
Sunday, September 27
- Women’s Soccer vs No. 21 Florida State – 12 p.m. ET (Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium)
- Volleyball at Boston College – 1 p.m. ET (Chestnut Hill, Mass.
- Field Hockey vs UC Davis – 1:30 p.m. ET (Berkeley, Calif.)
- Lacrosse – Fall Tournament (UofL Lacrosse Stadium)
- Women’s Golf at Fighting Irish Classic (South Bend, Ind.)
- Men’s Tennis at Fighting Irish Mini Duals (South Bend, Ind.)
—Matt McGavic is predicting a 45-27 Louisville win on Saturday.
—The CJ’s Brooks Holton looks atwhat LJ Wells brings to the Louisville men’s basketball team … assuming he remains eligible.
—The annual rivalry matchup between Trinity and St. X tops the list of this week’s best area high school football games.
—Athlon looks at five college football coaches squarely on the hot seat. No. 1 is in the ACC.
—Dwayne Sutton is still the man.
—Class of 2028 QB Austan Cristiaan will be among the visitors in town for Saturday’s home game against Wake.
—A look at Louisville vs. Wake Forestby the numbers.
—It’s Oktoberfest on Friday night at Lynn Family Stadium, where Racing Louisville is hosting the San Diego Wave. The game will feature authentic German food, beer and music — along with a stein-hoisting competition at 5:45 p.m. in the stadium beer garden. CC readers can get discounted tickets to the match here.
—The Columbus Dispatch is wasting no time comparing Lincoln Kienholz to Julian Sayin. All of us need to be mentally prepared for the “Kineholz will be back in Columbus playing for us next year” onslaught that is coming from Ohio State fans.
—The Card Tape is back, and it’s glorious.
—Lincon Kienholz’s hometown newspaper in South Dakota writes about the QB’s hot start.
—Projecting the depth charts for Louisville vs. Wake Forest.
—Eventually, Louisville will turn the ball over in 2026. It hasn’t happened yet, though.
—And finally, the Mike Rutherford Show is back this afternoon from 2:30-5:30 on 1450/96.1 The Big X. You can watch live on the Thornton’s YouTube stream, here.
