Jeff Brohm finally got the fast start he has been looking for throughout October. Briefly. U of L scored a touchdown before the game was four minutes old.
But after that, things went downhill for a long time before the Cardinals gathered themselves midway through the third quarter and pulled away to a sloppy 52-24 victory over Stanford (4-5, 2-4) in L&N Stadium to keep their slim hopes alive for a spot in the ACC championship game.
Their third straight win boosted their overall record to 5-3 and raised their league mark to 4-2 with three games remaining. For awhile, though, it was difficult to guess whether the Halloween night game was going to turn into a trick or at treat for the Cardinals.
In the first half, U of L's defense gave up two explosive touchdown plays, the offense failed to convert on a fake field goal that went awry, Keinholz and center Eric Wibberley misconnected on a snap that was recovered by Stanford, and there were two holding penalties in three plays. Then in the second half, Carson Hilbert missed a 40-yard goal with the game still up for grabs.
In the end, however, U of L used outstanding offensive performances from running back Isaac Brown, quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and wide receiver Tre Richardson, who made sure his team didn't miss injured leading receiver Lawayne McCoy, to overcome the shaky first half by its defense.
Those 20 minutes included back-to-back touchdown passes of 41 and 75 yards by Stanford quarterback Davis Warren, who caught the Louisville secondary flat-footed.
Brown racked up 139 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns on runs of 5, 23 and 75. yards. He also scored on an 18-yard pass from Keinholz. Richardson accounted for 189 yards, with 10 catches for 140 yards and four rushes for 49 yards. Keiholz completed 20-of-28 passes for 250 yards and two TDs, and also scored on a one-yard run as the Cardinals compiled 545 yards total offense.
This was a Stanford team that is the sixth-worst defensive teams in the nation and is near the bottom offensively in the ACC. In four previous games against Power 4 teams this season, the Cardinal had managed only 17 points. They had that many late in the second quarter and looked like they might be ready to break a 14-game road losing streak and upset U of L for the second time in as many meetings.
The first half featured four lead changes and a tie, ending with Louisville ahead 24-17. Stanford scored on its first possession of the second half on a screen pass to Ford, who turned it into a 40-yard TD against a confused U of L defense,
But then Stanford became Stanford and Louisville dominated the rest of the way, scoring 28 unanswered points. Isaac provided the go-ahead touchdown when he carried a screen pass 18 yards to make it 31-24 with 10:57 left in the third quarter.
The other second-half touchdowns came on a 31-yard fumble return by Tayon Holloway, followed by Isaac's TD runs of 23 and 75 yards, the latter wrapping up the scoring at the 10:01 mark in the game.
"We finished the game," Brohm said. "Yes, there were some moments we would love to have back that we need to execute better on and that's disappointing. But you know what, I mean, that's football. I'm proud that we played through that and played hard for four quarters. We've just got to continue to push forward and see if we can eliminate those. But our guys have showed fight and they stick together."
Louisville wide receiver Tre Richardson (0) avoids a tackle-attempt by Stanford safety Charlie Eckhardt, left, during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Louisville, Ky., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
