Season Two of the Weekly Newsletter covering the Cards most recent contest. Double clicking on the newsletter will allow for full screen viewing and zoom functionality on mobile device.
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While watching the game live I was a bit frustrated to see the team not come out firing on all cylinders and missing a couple easy throws that could have gone for big plays. I wanted to see the offense pick up where it left off and dominate. Then I stepped back after the game was over and realized that the Cards scored
more points in the first quarter than they did in any other quarter the entire game on their way to 59 points in a blowout win. Shows how much I know. Coming into Week 2 against an FCS opponent, the goal was fairly straightforward. Keep the starters healthy, get the backups plenty of reps for when they are needed later this year, and dominate on both sides of the ball. While there were certainly moments we could say that didn’t happen, overall things went according to plan. Giving up 13 points, especially with another deep ball connecting for a TD, was not a “warm and cozy” feeling for this secondary, and seeing another game of dumb penalties didn’t lower my red flag any for that being an ongoing topic the remainder of the year. Kienholz, while not flawless, still dropped a few hundred more yards, and the depth we praised in the running back room all offseason got to show out, with guys currently listed as three and four on the depth chart looking like studs in the ground game. There is no denying or avoiding the importance of this upcoming week three game, but we only get so many of these each year. Soak up the first win of 2026, celebrate it, and let’s hope we see quite a few more in the coming months.
OFFENSE
Another 332 yards in the air, 42 yards on the ground, and four total touchdowns accounted for this week, Mr. Kienholz is off to the races in 2026 and looking to make a national name for himself early in the season. Part of the reason fans feel like this guy is dominating is because….he is…but secondly, it’s because we’re coming off a season where the QB play just wasn’t on par. How much faster is Kienholz coming out of the gate? Well, this year he already has 24% of the total passing yards from QB1 last year, and 25% of the total passing touchdowns from QB1 last year, in two games. He is also #2 nationally in total offense (750yds) behind only Kevin Jennings (SMU). But Kienholz isn’t putting up these crazy numbers if he doesn’t have guys who can catch it, and Tre and Lawayne (Weezy) are as good as advertised thus far. Both of those guys are Top 10 in the ACC in reception yards, and the Cards have four players in the Top 20 of the ACC in average yards per reception (Tre, Lawayne, Jaleel, Treyshun). Even with a slower start for Isaac the running backs are still fourth in the ACC with 211yd/g thus far. This offense can get better, but we’re seeing something special here early, and I know Brohm is excited to show some new wrinkles in the coming weeks as the guys get more and more comfortable with what is being asked of them. This should be fun to watch.
DEFENSE
After two quarters of football in Nashville I was ready to hitch my wagon to the defense once again this year and pray ‘Ivey & Ellis’ could take us to heights unseen, because the offense just wasn’t doing it. Then I saw roughly four straight quarters, two to end the Ole Miss game, and two to start the Villanova game, where the defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed, or a seam route for that matter. The second half against Nova was much better, holding the ‘fighting Kerry Kittles’ to only three points and very little threat from the offense. While adjustments come into play, I also think the smaller and less athletic FCS squad just hit a wall in some instances, and had a tough time stringing together 60 minutes of the ‘spread you out, mix it up, and kill you with five yard curls’ type offense. The boys on the line who I had been pumping up all year finally got home in Week 2 and bagged a sack, with Tyler Thompson starting off the fun. Adding to that total this week will be a challenge as Jenning doesn’t get sacked a ton, but the pressure must be there, or he will carve them up all afternoon, and Lubin and Green know this much. The secondary is a bit of a concern, and listening to Brohm post game it seems some of that is attributed again to on field communication. This is something that can hopefully be cleaned up, and we can see a top tier defense once again.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Hilbert stays perfect on the year (4-4) and Hayes averages over 50 yards off his foot, with one inside the twenty. This is good, and something to build on. We still had a few knucklehead plays here and there but no one tried to play hero ball and no major penalties which cost us significant field position. We’ll take the little victories and move on. It was nice seeing Tre back there trying to make a play on punt returns, and giving Voth a shot to do the same later, but I’m of the opinion this offense is playing well enough we don’t need to risk a dangerous return and gift a turnover or short field in the process. Make a play when needed, otherwise let Kienholz and the boys do their thing until proven otherwise. Don’t do anything to lose an offensive possession, or keep their offense on the field.
