Louisville Football Postgame Quotes vs. SMU
September 19, 2026 | Football
Louisville 41, SMU 31
September 19, 2026
Louisville, Ky. | L&N Stadium
Head Coach Jeff Brohm
(Opening Statement)
"Definitely really proud of our team. It's a big win for us. It's an opponent we haven't beat in a while, actually never, so that's quite a while. That's a really good quarterback, a good offense. It was a back-and-forth game. The thing I'm proud of is how we scrapped and played hard to the end. We found a way to make more plays than them, that shows the toughness and the makeup of the team. It shows the toughness and the makeup of our assistant coaches, of the ability just to fight to the end. Sometimes thinks look good, sometimes they don't. You need to get down and you can do something about it. That's why this sport is so great is because it teaches you to hang in there to the end no matter what, and special things happen. Great victory for our team. Our fans were great, they were ready for another top opponent. They were loud, we could hear them, it was a great atmosphere and it was something we can build on."
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(On Keyjuan Brown)
"Definitely happy birthday to him. He showed out and had some big runs for us. He's run hard a year long, he's a hard worker, he's a grinder. He's got physicality. We have a good running back room. There's not one selfish person in there, they all want each other to do well. It's good to see Isaac [Brown] hit a couple of runs. We've got other runners that can produce. It's about getting the ball to our playmakers, but definitely Keyjuan has been steady and sturdy. The running game – to rush for that many yards against a really good opponent - great job by our offensive line and our running game."
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(On the resiliency of the team)
"I talked to our team after the game. It reminds me of growing up in the neighborhood before cellphones. When school got out, you went out in the backyard and played ball all day long. You had a group of friends you normally would play with and a lot times things would go well and you'd pat each other on the back and things wouldn't and you'd get on each other and fight amongst each other and you just figure it out in the end. But in the end, you came in after the game and you were happy that you did it. I just think that's the makeup of the team is. I think they're scrappers, they're fighters. I'd love for everything to look pretty and smooth, but that's not football at this level when you face good opponents. You just have to find a way to do it 51% to their 49 and score one more point than them. I credit our team. Sometimes I say what are we doing? We're shooting ourselves in the foot, but then again, they're a good team, so they're causing some of that. We had a couple of done penalties again and that has to stop, so we'll address that. We played to the end and we found a way to win, so that I'm proud of."Â
Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz
(On the environment)
"Awesome environment. The crowd showed up for sure. I did see some empty seats. I think we can fit some more people in our stadium. It was an awesome environment. The team came to play. Both teams came to play. Obviously scored 72 points or whatever it was. Awesome game, awesome environment."
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(On the grade he would give himself through three games)
"Yeah, I think I am super hard on myself, so I try to be perfect on everything I do. I get upset if I miss a throw, make the wrong read, things like that. I would say so far, I am doing all right. Just trying to go 1-0 every week. Got to prepare for the next week now."
Running back Keyjuan Brown
Defensive end Clev Lubin
(On the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter)
"I feel like they were gashing us too much on the run. I just told my guys, if we really are who we think we are, you got to show up in these moments, you got to be a man and you got to show up. There's no one else to look at, no one else to blame. When that moment came, and we knew the big time plays had to come, we showed up and we did exactly what we said we could do."Â
(On beating SMU after last season's loss)
"We played a better brand of football and competed all the way until the end. There were times where we weren't all the way there and they made big plays, but we got through it, we didn't put our heads down, we continued to fight and that's what football is all about."
September 19, 2026
Louisville, Ky. | L&N Stadium
Head Coach Jeff Brohm
(Opening Statement)
"Definitely really proud of our team. It's a big win for us. It's an opponent we haven't beat in a while, actually never, so that's quite a while. That's a really good quarterback, a good offense. It was a back-and-forth game. The thing I'm proud of is how we scrapped and played hard to the end. We found a way to make more plays than them, that shows the toughness and the makeup of the team. It shows the toughness and the makeup of our assistant coaches, of the ability just to fight to the end. Sometimes thinks look good, sometimes they don't. You need to get down and you can do something about it. That's why this sport is so great is because it teaches you to hang in there to the end no matter what, and special things happen. Great victory for our team. Our fans were great, they were ready for another top opponent. They were loud, we could hear them, it was a great atmosphere and it was something we can build on."
Â
(On Keyjuan Brown)
"Definitely happy birthday to him. He showed out and had some big runs for us. He's run hard a year long, he's a hard worker, he's a grinder. He's got physicality. We have a good running back room. There's not one selfish person in there, they all want each other to do well. It's good to see Isaac [Brown] hit a couple of runs. We've got other runners that can produce. It's about getting the ball to our playmakers, but definitely Keyjuan has been steady and sturdy. The running game – to rush for that many yards against a really good opponent - great job by our offensive line and our running game."
Â
(On the resiliency of the team)
"I talked to our team after the game. It reminds me of growing up in the neighborhood before cellphones. When school got out, you went out in the backyard and played ball all day long. You had a group of friends you normally would play with and a lot times things would go well and you'd pat each other on the back and things wouldn't and you'd get on each other and fight amongst each other and you just figure it out in the end. But in the end, you came in after the game and you were happy that you did it. I just think that's the makeup of the team is. I think they're scrappers, they're fighters. I'd love for everything to look pretty and smooth, but that's not football at this level when you face good opponents. You just have to find a way to do it 51% to their 49 and score one more point than them. I credit our team. Sometimes I say what are we doing? We're shooting ourselves in the foot, but then again, they're a good team, so they're causing some of that. We had a couple of done penalties again and that has to stop, so we'll address that. We played to the end and we found a way to win, so that I'm proud of."Â
Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz
(On the environment)
"Awesome environment. The crowd showed up for sure. I did see some empty seats. I think we can fit some more people in our stadium. It was an awesome environment. The team came to play. Both teams came to play. Obviously scored 72 points or whatever it was. Awesome game, awesome environment."
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(On the grade he would give himself through three games)
"Yeah, I think I am super hard on myself, so I try to be perfect on everything I do. I get upset if I miss a throw, make the wrong read, things like that. I would say so far, I am doing all right. Just trying to go 1-0 every week. Got to prepare for the next week now."
Running back Keyjuan Brown
(On how it feels to get the first win in program history over SMU)Â
"It feels good. We talked about it all week, they can't just come in here and take over and act like it's theirs. The team was just ready for it today. It was finally time to get some get back, and that's what happened."
(On getting the start today)
"It just shows how much trust me and Isaac have in each other. Both of us were a little banged up earlier in the week, so we were just trying to figure a way out to get back on the field. He came up to me and asked, 'Do you want to start it out?' and I said, 'It doesn't matter to me,' so coach went with it."
Defensive end Clev Lubin
(On the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter)
"I feel like they were gashing us too much on the run. I just told my guys, if we really are who we think we are, you got to show up in these moments, you got to be a man and you got to show up. There's no one else to look at, no one else to blame. When that moment came, and we knew the big time plays had to come, we showed up and we did exactly what we said we could do."Â
(On beating SMU after last season's loss)
"We played a better brand of football and competed all the way until the end. There were times where we weren't all the way there and they made big plays, but we got through it, we didn't put our heads down, we continued to fight and that's what football is all about."
Players Mentioned
Sunday, September 20
Sunday, September 20
Sunday, September 20
Sunday, September 20
