Wrapping up Louisville's long-awaited 41-31 victory over SMU Saturday before turning our attention to Wake Forest (2-1, 0-1) this Saturday at noon in L&N Stadium:
Even though it allowed the Mustangs to rack up 472 yards of total offense, the Cardinals' defense played a major role in the win by forcing three turnovers, and nobody had a bigger impact than junior safety Kaleb Beasley.
The Tennessee transfer led his team in tackles with 10 and intercepted SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings twice, with the second theft coming on U of L's 15-yard line with 1:31 remaining and ending SMU's hopes of a late comeback while preserving U of L's first-ever win over its ACC rival after four defeats.
"Every time he was rolling out of the pocket, he was a one-look guy," Beasley said of Jennings, who came into the game as the nation's total offense leader at 402.5 yards, but was limited to just 257 yards. "So wherever he was looking, I was just going to react and go there. I knew they were throwing the ball deep. The quarterback threw a deep ball and I just said I have to close the game out. The main thing in this game was being on the same page and limiting explosives."
Beasley had likely prevented another TD when he picked off a Jennings pass at the hosts' 18 in the second quarter, thanks in part to pressure on the QB by senior defensive end A.J. Green. Before Beasley, the most recent U of L player with a multi-interception game was Tayon Hollway, who also had two in last year's 41-0 rout of Kentucky in Lexington.
In addition to Beasley, who was originally a cornerback for the Vols, the other three starters in the Cards' secondary are also transfers -- cornerbacks Brycen Scott (Elon) and DJ Waller (Kentucky), along with safety Koen Entringer (Iowa).
"Kaleb had a very good game," safeties coach Brandon Sharp said. "All those guys should eventually have a breakout game. They're just getting familiar with the system. Kaleb came up big. He's a natural athlete and a very smart athlete as well. He has tremendous ball skills, as y'all saw this past weekend."
Scott also contributed a critical play when he hit Jennings at the goal line and forced a fumble, resulting in a touchback with 2:49 remaining and the Mustangs leading by the final score. The play was first called a touchdown but was reversed on review.
"If we really are who we think we are, you got to show up in these moments," linebacker Clev Lubin said.
The opportunity to make plays like he did against SMU was the reason Beasley left Tennessee for Louisville. He had played mostly on special teams and as a reserve, getting 28 tackles.
"From day one when he got here, man, he is a great teammate," U of L coach Jeff Brohm said. "He works really hard. He's got a smile on his face, he wants to win and he's coachable."
PENALTIES, PENALTIES AND MORE PENALTIES
Yellow flags continue to haunt the Cards, who added 11 to their collection for 110 yards against SMU, too many of them of the 15-yard variety. Two other penalties were either declined or offsetting. On the season, U of L has been punished 27 times for 282 yards, an average of 94 yards per game.
That total is on pace to far exceed last year when the Cards were also one of the most penalized FBS teams with 90 for 821 yards and a 63.2 ypg. U of L ranks third from the bottom nationally at No. 136. The only two teams behind them are also from the ACC -- No. 137 Wake (28/287) and No. 138 Syracuse (36/329).
"If you make mistakes, if you have a bunch of penalties, you're not going to give yourself a good chance to win," Brohm said. "The 15-yarders cost us, so many were silly, dumb penalties. So yes, that needs to be cleaned up and we'll continue to address it going forward."
LINEMEN GRATEFUL HEAT WAVE COOLING
Temperature for the SMU game at kickoff was in the 90s, with the heat index over 100. The temperature is forecast to be more moderate Saturday against the Demon Deacons at 74 degrees and none of the Cardinals will be happier to see that drop than the offensive linemen.
"I think we're out of the worst of the heat," tackle Cason Henry said. "It's hard on everybody, but especially us big guys with the knee braces, extra padding and all that stuff. But I think our nutrition staff does a great job getting us prepped with salt, electrolytes, water, having it available throughout the game. Same with our training staff. I also think it speaks of the maturity of our group, handling nutrition and hydration as well as we do, so we don't have any guys falling out."
NC STATE KICKOFF--The ACC announced Monday that kickoff for the Louisville-NC State game on Oct. 3 in Raleigh, N.C. has been set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on either ESPN2 or the ACC Network. U of L leads the series 9-4 and is 4-2 in Carter-Finley Stadium, including a 13-10 win in the teams' last meeting in 2023.
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) jumps in an attempt to avoid the tackle attempt by Louisville defensive lineman Clev Lubin (50) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Louisville, Ky., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
