Louisville · ACCBrohm reshapes Louisville offense around Kienholz
The Ohio State transfer has 10 total touchdowns without an interception through three games before Louisville’s ACC games against Wake Forest and NC State.
SEP 23, 2026
Points per game, No. 12 nationally
Yards per game, No. 12 nationally
Kienholz interceptions through three games
01 · The NewsBrohm Builds Around Kienholz
Louisville’s 41-31 win over SMU on Saturday, Sept. 19, moved the Cardinals to 2-1 and set up a pair of ACC tests for Jeff Brohm’s reshaped offense around Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz.
247Sports analyst Chris Hummer said Brohm deserves credit for building around what Kienholz can do on the ground.
“It is remarkable how much Jeff Brohm's changed his offense to fit his new quarterback,” Hummer said. “Louisville's last three quarterbacks — Jack Plummer, Tyler Shough, and Miller Moss — combined for -12 rushing yards the last three seasons. Kienholz is already over 150 yards for the year, and he has four rushing touchdowns. So he is one of the most dynamic and surprising rushing threats of the year. And you have to give Jeff Brohm credit for how he's employed his new kind of offensive weapon.”
Kienholz won the starting job after transferring from Ohio State and has completed 66% of his passes through three games for 816 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. He has added 153 rushing yards and four scores, giving Brohm a quarterback-run threat Louisville’s recent offenses lacked.
The exact scheme and play-design changes Brohm made are not yet clear, but the personnel shift is. Kienholz has supplied production as a passer and a runner, and Louisville now has to take that second threat into conference play.
Kienholz has made his legs part of Brohm’s offensive plan.
02 · The StakesThe ACC Test
Louisville ranks 12th nationally in both points per game at 46.0 and yards per game at 515.3. The next two ACC games — a home matchup with Wake Forest on Saturday, Sept. 26, and a visit to NC State on Saturday, Oct. 3 — will test whether that explosive offense can support a conference and playoff push.
03 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
The larger test is the schedule compression. Louisville faces Wake Forest on Sept. 26, NC State on Oct. 3, Florida State on Oct. 9 and Syracuse on Oct. 17 — four ACC games in 22 days. The NC State trip also leads into a six-day turnaround for the Friday game against Florida State. That sequence follows a 2025 season in which the Cardinals went 4-4 in conference play. Brohm will have little time between games to adjust whatever Wake Forest or NC State exposes, so the new offense’s durability could define Louisville’s ACC position by mid-October.
04 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
What did Brohm change to unlock Kienholz as a runner?
The sources establish the contrast with Louisville’s previous three quarterbacks but do not identify the formations or play designs behind it. Wake Forest on Sept. 26 and NC State on Oct. 3 provide consecutive ACC checks on whether 153 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns reflect a repeatable structure. Kienholz’s usage and production in those games will be the tell.
05 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching
Can Kienholz keep creating with his legs?
His rushing production is the new element in Brohm’s offense: 153 yards and four touchdowns through three games.
Does Louisville’s offense hold its national pace in ACC play?
The Cardinals enter the Wake Forest and NC State games ranked 12th nationally in both points per game and yards per game.