Louisville returned two of its big playmakers from last season in the Law Offices of Brown and Brown. Both Keyjuan and Isaac Brown were considered key pieces to an offense that had a lot of turnover from last season into this one. With a new quarterback in Lincoln Kienholz, two new starting wide receivers in Lawayne McCoy and Tre Richardson and a revamped offensive line, there was a lot of new for the 2026 Louisville Cardinals offense.
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Considering that this is the fourth different quarterback in as many years for Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm, new is not exactly, well, new for Cardinal fans. They have adjusted to the transfer portal era pretty well and have found key pieces for the team year after year under Brohm. Despite this kind of turnover, Louisville has won at least nine games in all four seasons under Brohm since 2023.
Louisville football has an offense everyone should fear
Even with the new talent coming in each year, the most consistent thing has been the big-play ability of this offense. Coach Brohm has been able to find and create opportunities for his playmakers year after year. Louisville was introduced to 70-plus-yard runs by Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo and big plays by Jamari Thrash starting in 2023. Then it was Tyler Shough throwing deep balls to Jacorey Brooks and Chris Bell in 2024. Last year, Cardinal fans were introduced to this crop of running backs in K. Brown and I. Brown. Now, with Richardson and McCoy getting the ball from Kienholz, this may be his most talented group yet.
The stats support that sentiment as well, even if it is just through three games. Currently, Louisville is near the top of the country in longest scrimmage plays in almost every metric. For plays that go 20-plus yards, Louisville ranks second with 23 such plays. They are tied for third in plays going at least 30 yards, with 13 of those. They are also ranked third in plays going 40-plus yards with eight. They have six plays going for 50-plus yards, putting them tied for first in that category. Finally, they are tied for fourth in the FBS for 60-plus-yard plays with three.
Looking even deeper, their big-play ability comes from both the run game and the passing game. On rushing plays going for 30-plus yards, Louisville ranks fourth in the country with five already this season. They are also in the top 10 in rushing plays going for 40-plus and 50-plus yards.
For passing plays, Louisville is once again near the top in similar categories. They rank seventh in the country for plays going 30-plus yards with eight such plays. They are third for plays going 40-plus yards with five and second for pass plays going 50-plus yards with four. Finally, they are No. 1 in the country for passing plays going at least 60 yards with three.
That is probably the biggest difference this season: the long plays in the passing game. Last season, Louisville ranked 123rd in big-play ability in the passing game, having just six total plays that went 40-plus yards. In fact, last season they had just 23 plays in the passing game that went for 30-plus yards. This season, in just three games, they already have 20 plays that have gone for 30-plus yards and seven that have gone for 50-plus yards.
The big-play ability of the rushing attack has been a staple for Brohm while at Louisville. In 2025, the Cards were top three in rushing plays going for 40-plus and 50-plus yards as well. In 2024, they were also ranked in the top five in rushing plays going for 40-plus and 50-plus yards. The talented running backs have always been the backbone of this offense, but this year they have a quarterback who can stretch the field with his arm as well.
These big plays are game-changers by nature for Brohm’s offense and can quickly swing the momentum of a game. With Louisville having already played the toughest two games on its schedule, all of its goals are still ahead of it this season, and these big plays may be the difference between making it to an ACC Championship game and not.
The playmakers on this offense are not getting the national recognition they deserve, but if they continue making big plays down the field like they have been, the committee will have no choice but to take notice.
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