Louisville football has its biggest game of the season this weekend as the Cardinals take on the No. 16 SMU Mustangs. Jeff Brohm is looking to make history this weekend, as the Cards are 0-4 against SMU in program history, including 0-2 since SMU joined the conference in 2024.
Louisville football vs SMU early odds and a prediction
Now, Louisville and SMU are set to battle this weekend in a huge Week 3 showdown, as whoever wins will likely emerge as the favorite to face Miami in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. Cards fans can not wait for this game, as it will be Louisville’s biggest home game of the season with so much on the line.
CBS Sports has already made its picks for this weekend's game, and Cardinals fans are smiling ear to ear and feeling even better after the four analysts made theirs.
CBS Sports is all in on Louisville football
CBS Sports has Brian Kelly, Rick Neuheisel, Aaron Taylor, and Brian Jones on their show on Tuesday, and the four broke down this massive ACC game. Cardinals fans have plenty of reasons to feel good about this game, as Brohm and Lincoln Kienholz are firing on all cylinders, averaging 48.5 points per game and a dominant 552 yards per game.
This offense looks like the real deal and is showing why it had such high expectations coming into the season. For that reason, and with Louisville having 60,800 on its side inside L&N Stadium, the four analysts had a clean sweep, and all predicted Louisville to win this game.
Kienholz will be a major X-factor for the Cardinals again this game. But CBS Sports shone a bright light on the Cards' star QB, and in fact, he is the reason many predicted Louisville to win.
“I love your choice because I think Lincoln Kienholz is an evaluation for Jeff Brohm,” stated Neuheisel. “He had Miller Moss last year, Tyler Shough the year before, and both of them were really good players, but neither of them had the legs that Lincoln Kienholz has. He has more rushing yards than either of them had in an entire season.”
Through two games, Kienholz has already made a name for himself. He made history against Ole Miss as the first Cardinal to throw for 300 yards or more in his debut, and later became the first Cardinal since Lamar Jackson to throw for 275 yards or more, throw two passing touchdowns, and rush for two touchdowns in one half.
Kienholz has been an absolute star for Louisville and has been in Heisman talk through two games. The 4-star transfer from Ohio State has thrown for 639 yards, four touchdowns, completing 68 percent of his throws, while adding 111 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Jones's message to SMU was simple: this elite offense led by Kienholz; the defense better show up.
“SMU man, you better come with your defense,” stated Jones.
It is going to be another thrilling Louisville football game on Saturday, and with the Cardinals eyeing their first ACC Title and first CFP berth, a lot is riding on this game. Louisville and SMU will kick off at 3:30 p.m. local time at L&N Stadium on ESPN 2.
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