By Vinny Porco

Louisville football fell to ACC opponent Wake Forest 30-27 Saturday afternoon at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. The loss is their second of the season, and first since the Music City Kickoff in Nashville.

Cold-start Cards

The Cards’ opening drive ended in disappointing fashion with a three-and-out. A feed to Isaac Brown and checkdown to Jaleel Skinner went nowhere, and Lincoln Kienholz threw it away on third before punting.

The Deacons, in contrast, got some offense going. They crossed midfield on the third play of their series thanks to quarterback Gio Lopez’ legs. Success was short-lived, however, as Stanquan Clark stuffed running back Ty Clark III on fourth-and-short in Louisville territory to recover possession. 

Offensive woes resumed, with a Gabe Kirschke sack on Kienholz dooming the following drive on second down. With the ball back in the Deacs’ hands, the Cards showed an early flash of Brohm-ball. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Benjamin Perry nearly took the already-lively drive to the redzone.

Thankfully for the Cards, defensive standout Clev Lubin handled Wake running back Deuce Lawrence to set up a third-and-long. T.J. Capers held up his end, limiting star receiver Carlos Hernandez to a three-yard reception on the next play. The Deacs settled for three off Caleb Carlson’s foot.

Lawayne McCoy misses a catch during a Sept. 26, 2026 game against Wake Forest at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky (Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal)

With newfound possession, Louisville shook things up for the better. Kienholz sailed one deep to Lawayne McCoy that he couldn’t quite come down with in double coverage. But the Cardinals were able to jumpstart the passing offense with receptions from McCoy, Treyshun Hurry and Tre Richardson.

In the redzone, Kienholz tripped and fell with an open lane to the endzone. Unfazed, he made it up on the next play by diving for the corner pylon. Louisville ended the first quarter leading 7-3.

Fireworks on Floyd Street

Wake Forest’s offensive series started off yellow. Two false starts brought first-and-20. After a DJ Waller Jr. pass breakup, a Lubin roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Deacs a first down.

Another false start and a few stops brought about third-and-15, but Lopez was able to find Hernandez deep left for a 48-yard bomb. Clark III extended his arm into the endzone two plays later.

Louisville responded poised with some nice gains of ten-plus from Skinner, Hurry and Keyjuan Brown. A twelve-yard dish to Richardson got them in redzone territory, and Kienholz delivered the football to the endzone personally yet again to put the Cardinals back on top.

A holding penalty on the kickoff started the Deacs off deep in Louisville territory, but a Lopez keeper on third-and-long bought them some breathing room. The heroics continued, as Lopez found Hernandez wide-open on the following play for a 77-yard touchdown.

The Cards got the ball back and traded penalties with Wake. A tipped ball then got in the hands of Somad Eaddy, and became Kienholz’ first interception of his career. 

Another Hernandez catch for 31 yards got the Deacs past midfield before Lawrence and Clark III rifled off 10 and 20-yard runs. Clark III scored on the next play.

Jaleel Skinner runs down the sideline for a touchdown during the game against Wake Forest on Sept. 26, 2026 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal)

The Louisville offense stayed cool after the turnover. Kienholz passed to Richardson and Hurry for a pair of seven-yard gains. He then found Skinner along the left side, who stayed inbounds on the way to a 61-yard touchdown.

Neither team’s drive materialized in the final minute, and the Cardinals went back to the locker room down 24-21.

A handful of kicks

The Louisville defense entered the second half with a strong showing. A Lubin sack capped off a Wake Forest three-and-out, causing them to punt.

The Cards got moving on the good side of the ball with a 26-yard pass to Richardson complimented by other incremental yardage. However, another Kirschke sack on Kienholz stifled their success on third-and-short. Carson Hilbert tied things up early in the third with a 41-yard field goal.

The Deacs were quickly helped along to the redzone on their next drive by a Clark facemask penalty and a 21-yard rush by Lawrence down the left side. But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by center Will Way backed Wake up from a goalline third down to a fourth-and-long. They were forced to take three from Connor Calvert.

Louisville caught a break on offense, as an Eaddy pass interference on McCoy provided a free 15 yards. A 12-yard completion to McCoy and a few solid rushes from Keyjuan Brown got the Cards close, but an intentional grounding penalty on third down backed things up. Hilbert nailed a 54-yard field goal to tie the game up 27-27 heading into the fourth.

You ain’t goin’ nowhere

The final quarter opened with a Hernandez fumble recovered by Jerod Smith II on the first play. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Clark compromised the Cards’ good field position.

The Cards couldn’t get much going, and a fourth-down pass was broken up by Brian Blades II to give Wake Forest possession. The Deacs marched into Louisville territory with production from Lawrence and Hernandez. 

Louisville’s defense held up around their 30-yard line and caused the kicking team to come out, but a Lubin offsides penalty gave the Wake drive new life. They would only end up getting three, however. After some stops, Clark stuffed Clark III on a big third-and-one.

The Louisville student section rallies during the game against Wake Forest on Sept. 26, 2026 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal)

Two bigtime connections between Kienholz and McCoy on the following drive quickly got the Cardinals into the redzone, but a sack by Zach Lohavichan took them right out. To make matters worse, Hilbert missed a 42-yard field goal.

Wake got the ball back up three, and the Cards quickly burnt the remainder of their timeouts. TJ Banks chased Lopez out of bounds on third down and Jack Ploszay punted the ball away to give Louisville a chance with just under two minutes to go.

The offense made good headway to start, with a 19-yard completion to Richardson getting them into Wake territory. However, a holding penalty on Johnnie Brown III backed them up 10 yards.

Kienholz threw three deperate passes that all fell incomplete, leaving Nick Keller to try a 57-yard attempt. The fans never saw what could have become, however, as Kirschke, the Deacs’ defensive hero, blocked it for Devin Cook to recover.

Wake Forest knelt it down and won 30-27.

Analysis

Characteristic of a Brohm-led team, Louisville football gave fans a stinker just one week after a signature win against SMU.

On offense, the Cards simply couldn’t get the run game going in a meaningful way. The longest carry of the game was just 12 yards and came from rushing leader Keyjuan Brown. Isaac Brown was barely heard from. Even Kienholz couldn’t get going, losing 19 yards on 13 attempts despite taking two into the endzone.

The passing game was solid overall. Kienholz shared the wealth with Hurry, McCoy, Richardson and Skinner, who all logged over 70 receiving yards. However, Wake Forest was able to contain his scrambles and deliver pressure when it mattered most.

The Wake Forest offense had a solid game on the ground, but the Louisville defense struggled most with containing the pass. They gave up multiple big plays, including a 77-yard touchdown to Hernandez. The Deacs’ star receiver absolutely torched Louisville’s secondary, logging 194 yards on nine catches.

The Cards have struggled this season containing big passing plays, allowing at least one wide open touchdown catch in every contest. Without Koen Entringer in the secondary, their struggles were even more apparent.

Finally, a slew penalties at inopportune times accounted for what the team’s other shortcomings couldn’t. The Cards picked up nine penalties for 90 yards. 

These included an offsides on Lubin to reawaken the Deacs’ drive on fourth down and a holding call that backed the offense out of kicking range trailing at the end. Clark particularly struggled, logging a pair of 15-yard penalties by himself.

In Brohm’s four seasons at Louisville, he has had to repeatedly answer for his teams’ excessive and continous penalties. Avoidable flags have contributed to season-ending losses like one against Stanford in 2024.

A talented Wake Forest team coming off playing No. 5 Miami close met a Jeff Brohm team with a big head and a lack of discipline. Louisville was on a collision course with disaster. This was a classic trap game.

The Cardinals are no longer in the driver’s seat to make the College Football Playoffs. Louisville will go on the road to face NC State next Saturday, Oct. 3.

Feature Photo by Harrison Plank / The Louisville Cardinal