5 Things You Need to Know About the Louisville Cardinals

Saturday’s football game at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium is going to have some weird vibes. Both fan bases are growing apathetic towards their team and are disgruntled, at best, when it comes to their respective head coaches. Over the last three weeks the Louisville Cardinals have gone from a Top 15 team contending for a College Football Playoff berth to a 7-4 team just trying to make it across the finish line. Meanwhile, Kentucky undid any positive momentum they had gathered over the previous three games with a 45-17 loss at Vanderbilt last weekend. However, despite two semi-checked out fanbases, this game still means a lot. The rivalry will always matter. The fight for the Governor’s Cup matters. Also, for Kentucky, a bowl berth is on the line.

Big Blue Nation has, seemingly, moved on from the 2025 football season. They have largely moved on from Coach Mark Stoops as well. Even though a win would mean a 6-6 season and a bowl game there is a very vocal portion of the fanbase that will want, and expect, change prior to next year. That is part of what will make the vibes in Louisville very unique regardless of the result on Saturday. Two teams that hate each other will be battling for bragging rights in a game where their fanbases almost would prefer them to bottom out and force large scale change. We will see what happens when the ball gets kicked off at Noon. One team will catch a little last season jolt while the other will roll even further down the hill towards rock bottom.

As always, Kentucky Sports Radio’s football experts Nick Roush and Adam Luckett have spent the week providing in-depth breakdowns of the Wildcats’ opponent. 11 Personnel and the KSR Football Podcast have you covered as well if you prefer preparing for Saturday’s game via audio. However, for those looking for a more surface level preview you have come to the right place. Here are five things you need to know about the Louisville Cardinals.

Louisville’s Offensive Struggles Have Been Mounting

Last season, the Louisville Cardinals rode a Top 10 offense to nine wins and a Tiger Sun Bowl trophy. However, this season, production has slipped in a major way. The Cardinals are now scoring less than 30 points per game on the season checking in at 55th nationally. That is what four straight sub-30 point games will do. Louisville is coming off of a 38-6 loss at SMU. Their EPA per play of -0.02 ranks 109th nationally. Third down conversion rate, havoc rate allowed, red zone touchdown rate, and turnovers are all in the 85-100 range in the country.

This is a team that struggles with situational football and can’t find anything to consistently move the ball down the field. They’ve continued to rely heavily on the passing attack, but the production simply hasn’t been there. Louisville is 28th in pass rate while ranking 85th in yards per drop back. That is a tough combination. Kentucky’s defense, which had been light’s out during their three-game winning steak, will have a chance to finish the regular season on a high note after allowing 45 points in Nashville last Saturday.

Saturday’s Starting Quarterback Remains a Mystery

For a third straight season the Louisville Cardinals turned to the transfer portal for a quarterback. USC’s Miller Moss was brought in for the 2025 season and things largely have not gone as planned. The redshirt senior started the first 10 games of the season completing 216 of 336 passes for 2,344 yards and 11 touchdowns. The numbers may not look bad on paper, but the fact that Moss threw seven interceptions while the vast majority of his passes were less than 10 yards downfield was a growing issue. After a freak weight room accident, Moss did not play in last weekend’s disaster at SMU. He remains questionable for Saturday’s contest against the Wildcats.

Redshirt freshman Deuce Adams stepped in last week as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback. He completed 12 of 17 passes for 94 yards in the 38-6 loss. Brady Allen, a redshirt junior, could be an option as well if Miller Moss can’t go and Louisville goes away from Deuce Adams. Regardless of who takes the snaps, the passing game will be a question mark and turnovers will be a potential problem. Kentucky will need to be opportunistic when it comes to creating havoc on Saturday afternoon.

Running Back Room Decimated by Injuries

What started as an extremely talented running back room could be left nearly empty on Saturday. In fact, the Louisville Cardinals could be starting a true freshman walk-on against Kentucky. Isaac Brown was one of the most explosive running backs in the country before missing the last three games. He racked up 782 yards on 91 carries and five touchdowns. Keyjuan Brown and Duke Watson could both be out as well. Those two had combined for over 750 rushing yards and seven total scores. If none of that talented trio can go, it will be Braxton Jennings in the backfield.

Jennings, a true freshman walk-on from Ashland, has 17 rushes for 87 yards and a touchdown so far this season. He carried the ball five times last Saturday, but prior to that hadn’t seen action since Week Two. Louisville has found success on the ground over the course of the season ranking 15th in yards per non-sack rush. However, that success has come to a screeching halt. The Cardinals gained just 128 yards against SMU and could be in for a long afternoon on the ground against the Wildcats. It will be interesting to see if Coach Brohm can scheme up some ways to find success in the rushing attack on Saturday.

Injury Issues Have Hit the Wide Receiver Room As Well

In fairness to the Louisville Cardinals their team will look a lot different on Saturday than it did earlier in the season. We already discussed all of the injuries to their running backs, but the wide receiver room isn’t too much different. Chris Bell has been the Cardinals’ best player this season. The senior pass catcher recorded 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns before going down with an injury against SMU. He has been ruled inactive for the game against Kentucky. Meanwhile, Caullin Lacy was also hurt last week and could miss Saturday’s game. Lacy has 54 receptions for 547 yards and two touchdowns. There are question marks at quarterback, but whoever plays will be playing with limited weapons surrounding him.

In the absence of Louisville’s two primary targets look for the tight ends to step up. Jaleel Skinner and Nate Kurisky didn’t really factor into the equation last weekend, but they do have a combined 37 catches for 329 yards and three touchdowns. Big play threat Dacari Collins will likely be a bigger factor as well without Bell and Lacy. Louisville threw for just 100 yards in their loss at SMU last weekend. Kentucky’s pass coverage could use a serious bounce back after getting picked apart at Vanderbilt. If we see a return to the Wildcats’ defense that showed up during their three-game winning streak it could be a long day on the gridiron for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals’ Defensive Line is a Strength

It took until the 11th game of the season for the Louisville Cardinals to allow 30 or more points. SMU hung 38 on them in a blowout, but overall this has been a solid defensive unit. Their strength has been along the defensive line. Clev Lubin, a Coastal Carolina transfer, has made an instant impact at Louisville. The redshirt junior edge rusher has 50 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, five pass breakups, and leads the team with 53 pressures. He will need to be picked up on every down by the Big Blue Wall. Wesley Bailey, AJ Green, and Rene Konga all have 25+ pressure as well and have combined for 9.5 sacks. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Jordan Guerad will be in the mix too. This is a very disruptive defensive line. If Louisville wins on Saturday it will be because of the havoc this unit creates.