Grading Louisville football's 2026 season heading into Week 8 bye

Louisville football has found ways to address its issues and not let them snowball into bigger problems.

The Cardinals were rewarded for making the necessary adjustments with back-to-back victories, including their first win at Syracuse in a decade. Although the performance wasn't perfect, Louisville found a way to win a close game after suffering three losses by a margin of three points apiece.

Now the squad will have a week off before going into the final five games of the regular season. They start that stretch run by hosting Stanford before going on a two-week road trip to Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

After a tumultuous first half of the season, Louisville will look to use its newfound momentum to put together as many victories as possible to reach nine wins for the fourth time in head coach Jeff Brohm's tenure.

Here's how we graded Louisville's 2026 season heading into the Week 8 bye: 

Offense: A 

Despite an off game against Syracuse, quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has been outstanding in his first season of getting meaningful playing time at the college level. The Ohio State transfer made his Cardinals debut with back-to-back 300-yard passing games and is averaging 263.4 passing yards per contest. He has plenty of weapons around him, with Lawayne McCoy and Tre Richardson emerging as the team's two best receivers. McCoy has been the best deep threat, averaging 20.5 yards per catch for a team-leading 513 receiving yards, while Richardson has used his speed to create separation for 493 yards on 30 receptions.

Louisville's rushing attack has allowed the offense to be balanced, with Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown leading the way. Isaac Brown was dealing with grief at the beginning of the season, which understandably affected his performance. In learning to take things one day at a time, the junior has looked more like himself over the last few weeks, recording a career-high 235 rushing yards against Florida State. Keyjuan Brown is also having a career season, averaging 8.2 yards per carry, but has struggled with injuries and missed the game against the Seminoles. After getting stymied by Syracuse's rushing defense, consistency will be key for the two running backs.

Defense: C+ 

The Cardinals' defense has been the team's weakness. They struggled defending the pass, often giving up big plays on busted coverages, and didn't get much pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Through the first five weeks of the season, Louisville averaged a program-worst 266.8 passing yards allowed with 13 completions covering at least 30 yards, six for 40-plus yards and four going for 50 or more yards.

That brought about a change: Brohm gave up offensive play-calling duties to spend more time with the defense and help Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis, who are in their first season as co-defensive coordinators at the Power Four level. Louisville also already had wristbands but has used them more recently, which has helped improve communication while curbing the potential for sign stealing.

The changes have been beneficial. Although Louisville is still working on eliminating big plays, the defensive unit is getting to the quarterback more, with nine sacks over the past two games, and held both FSU and Syracuse below their scoring averages.

Special teams: B 

After initially being a concern during fall camp, Louisville's kicking game has done better than expected. Australia native Niall Hayes has adjusted to the American game and is averaging 40.0 yards per punt with four punts landing inside the 20-yard line. Carson Hilbert took over as the team's field-goal kicker and is 7 for 9 on the season. He nailed a career-best 54-yard field goal against Wake Forest, but he and Nick Keller each missed one in the loss to the Demon Deacons. Hilbert also missed an extra point while Hayes struggled with punts against Syracuse, something the Cards will address during the open week.

And much like in the run game, Isaac Brown has been a bright spot as one of Louisville's best return specialists, totaling 163 yards on six kickoffs. Jackson Voth has more recently taken over punt returns, though he's only averaging 8.2 yards per return. 

Overall team: B 

Louisville is set to end another year having underachieved. Its two ACC losses will likely keep it out of the ACC championship game, and its three overall setbacks will keep it out of College Football Playoff at-large consideration (the ACC champion will receive an automatic berth). But the Cardinals get credit for identifying and correcting the issues that ailed them in the first half of the season and turning it around over the last two games. They'll need to make sure they're playing their best with the final month of the regular season approaching. 

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Grading Louisville football's 2026 season heading into Week 8 bye