No. 16 SMU Heads on the Road to Face No. 23 Louisville in a Top 25 Showdown of the Season Game Preview

DALLAS, Texas—After a thumping win in its home opener, the No. 16 SMU Mustangs (2-0, 1-0 ACC) travel to the outer bluegrass region to face the No. 23 Louisville Cardinals (1-1, 0-0 in ACC) in a top 25 conference showdown Saturday afternoon. While the Mustangs have been stingy against opposing offenses in the secondary so far this season, how does it stack up against an equally explosive Louisville team?

This weekend's matchup will be the fifth time both teams meet. The Mustangs hold a 4-0 record over Louisville including a 38-6 win at Ford Stadium last season.

Coming into this year both sides have been equally impressive through the opening weeks of College Football season and both coming in with a win under their belts.

SMU Head Football Coach Rhett Lashlee and his team dismantled UC Davis 56-10 last week with a majority of starters ending their afternoon early after playing two games in a week. SMU has already picked up a road win to start the season, beating the Florida State Seminoles 27-24 in Tallahassee on Labor Day.

Louisville fell just short against then-No. 8 Ole Miss in the Cardinals' opener, losing 41-38 in Nashville, before returning to L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium and defeating Villanova 59-13 this past Friday night.

Given both teams' forms and explosive style of play, Saturday's matchup should be a thriller. For the Mustangs, it will be SMU’s first top 25 clash to start the season and is shaping up to be one of its biggest tests early in the year.

Lashlee praised Louisville Head Coach Jeff Brohm as one of the best offensive minds in the sport. The fifth-year SMU head coach also mentioned how Saturday's game will be a big challenge, as this Louisville offense will be one of the more explosive offenses the Mustang will face all year.

“Coach Brohm he’s as good of an offensive mind, him and Petrino over there as there is in the game. This offense has the ability both with their scheme, identity, and personnel to be an explosive of an offense that we play all year,” said Lashlee after practice Tuesday. “Defensivley I think they are much improved from the last two years. They have a lot of their best players returning. They are healthy at linebacker now I think it's a really good linebacker group.They got three to four defensive ends who are really good not just rushing the quarterback, but just really good players. I think they are really athletic in the secondary and they got their kicking game figured out and their kicker has been really good… It's going to be a good challenge.”

The Cardinals, through the early weeks of college football, are inside the top 10 in total offense and inside the top eight in total passing numbers. Louisville signal caller Lincoln Kienholz has thrown for 639 yards with four touchdowns and one turnover through the air this season with a 68% completion percentage. He has averaged north of 300+ yards passing in both of the Cardinals' first two games while rushing for at least 40+ yards and multiple scores in each.

In his first true action in college after serving as backup at Ohio State prior to commanding Jeff Brohm’s offense, Kienholz has slowly settled into games this season, playing better as more time comes off the clock. Lashlee commented that his skill set as a quarterback is the kind that drives defensive coordinators crazy.

“You see what he was coming out of high school a do it all guy kind of like Kevin to be honest with you,” said Lashlee. “He can hurt you with his legs. He is a really gifted runner. He can also really hurt you when things break down or offschedule. The stuff that makes defensive coordinators go crazy when they cover everybody and he breaks contain and scrambles hitting wide open dudes. Or you have a guy free for a sack and he avoids it and now he’s running downhill for 20. So I think that's the part that scares you.”

“You could tell game one was his first real start against a top 10 team. The first half was kinda shaky then he came out and balled in the second half,” continued Lashlee. “It was the same thing last week first drive was a little shaky and the he just balled. So he has gained a lot of confidence and that's your biggest fear as a coach.”

However, the explosiveness of the Louisville offense just doesn’t end with Kienholz. The Cardinals' run game played well last week, averaging 6.8 yards per carry against Villanova. Louisville brought back junior running back Isaac Brown after he hit the portal in the offseason. Brown had 13 rushes for 61 yards the Cardinals won last week. Along with senior running back Keyjuan Brown and sophomore running back Marquise Davis, who also bolster the backfield, both led the offense in rushing in at least one of the last two games.

In the pass-catching category the trio of senior wide receiver Tre Richardson, junior wide receiver Lawayne McCoy, and senior wide receiver Trey Shun Hurry has been dynamic.

Transferring from Vanderbilt, Richardson has had 50+ yards in the last two games. McCoy also had 100+ receiving yards in the win against Villanova. The trio has gelled well and amplified the passing attack for the Cardinals to start the season.

On defense the Cardinals, as Lashlee mentioned, have the secondary as "athletic," with multiple passes defended on the year. Louisville racked up a season-high five tackles for loss last week against Villanova. While the defensive line has not produced havoc numbers, with just one sack on the season, it still poses a threat to opposing quarterbacks and offenses due to its impressive length and athleticism in the edge rushing room.

So far this season, the SMU offense has shown early on that it is explosive and balanced. The Mustangs currently are in the top 10 in total offense and lead the nation in passing. Lashlee mentioned how the balance of the offense's duality will be one of the many big keys in this weekend's game.

“The best thing you can do on the road or against a good pass rush is to be balanced,” continued Lashlee. “I thought against Florida State even though we threw for 400+ yards we were balanced and we ran the ball well. We have to be able to do both to help ourselves out.”

The stakes feel very high as the Mustangs head into their first top 25 matchup of the season. SMU has showcased its explosiveness on offense while boasting a defense that can fly around and make plays. While being stingy against opposing offenses in the secondary so far this season.

No.16 SMU will kickoff against No.23 Louisville at 2:30 p.m. CT at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. On Saturday, September 19, 2026 on ESPN 2.

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