Deion Branch's advice to his group of Louisville wide receivers for this week is to keep the noise outside and stay off the internet.
Turn off the TV — not even SportsCenter — or any kind of media. No "rat poison," as Nick Saban would say.
"The spreads and what we're favored by, that stuff doesn't matter," Branch told the Cardinals, who are favored by 36.5 points against Villanova. "You still have to go out and play the game. We have to go out and execute our plays. I need my guys to perform at a very high level for the team and also for themselves. ... So that's my message to the guys. Don't pay any attention to it. Just come in here and continue to work and push forward."
Louisville won't be overlooking the Wildcats tonight in its 2026 home opener. There was too much to work on in the team's 41-38 season-opening loss to No. 11 Ole Miss. Defensively, the Cards need to limit big plays and prevent completions up the seam. Offensively, they need to make sure that quarterback Lincoln Kienholz settles in sooner and doesn't jump out of the pocket before necessary. Having a full game under his belt will help the Ohio State transfer do that. In his first start, Kienholz completed 62.1% of his passes (18-29) with two touchdowns and became the first Louisville starting quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in his debut (307 yards) since Kyle Bolin, then a redshirt freshman, threw for 300 yards in a 37-14 loss to Georgia in the 2014 Belk Bowl.
The Courier Journal is bringing you live updates, scores and highlights from Friday night's game. Follow along:
#need #yards
Turn off the TV — not even SportsCenter — or any kind of media. No "rat poison," as Nick Saban would say.
"The spreads and what we're favored by, that stuff doesn't matter," Branch told the Cardinals, who are favored by 36.5 points against Villanova. "You still have to go out and play the game. We have to go out and execute our plays. I need my guys to perform at a very high level for the team and also for themselves. ... So that's my message to the guys. Don't pay any attention to it. Just come in here and continue to work and push forward."
Louisville won't be overlooking the Wildcats tonight in its 2026 home opener. There was too much to work on in the team's 41-38 season-opening loss to No. 11 Ole Miss. Defensively, the Cards need to limit big plays and prevent completions up the seam. Offensively, they need to make sure that quarterback Lincoln Kienholz settles in sooner and doesn't jump out of the pocket before necessary. Having a full game under his belt will help the Ohio State transfer do that. In his first start, Kienholz completed 62.1% of his passes (18-29) with two touchdowns and became the first Louisville starting quarterback to throw for at least 300 yards in his debut (307 yards) since Kyle Bolin, then a redshirt freshman, threw for 300 yards in a 37-14 loss to Georgia in the 2014 Belk Bowl.
The Courier Journal is bringing you live updates, scores and highlights from Friday night's game. Follow along:
#need #yards
5 hours ago
