Lincoln Kienholz

#3 · QB · Sr. · Louisville6′2″ · 215 lb · Pierre, SD · T.F. Riggs

ZPR805th of 119 QBsHeismanNo. 22in our modelLast gameW 52–24vs Stanford · Oct 31
Nextat Georgia TechSat Nov 7 · 7:30 pm ET

Came in vs Stanford.

Ryan Zimmerman started Louisville’s last game, W 52-24 vs Stanford, Oct 31.

Louisville’s next game: at Georgia Tech, Sat Nov 7, 7:30 p.m. ET · ACC Network

Louisville is 5-3 in the eight games played. A dual-threat quarterback.

Strongest: 10.1 yards an attempt, 5th best of 158 starters.

Passing yards

2,094

141 of 208, 68%

TD–INT

12–3

10.1 per throw

NCAA rating

168.5

14th of 119

ZPR

80

5th of 119

How ZPR works

Great in 5 of 8 graded games.

  • 1-1 against ranked teams, 242 passing yards a game.

Best by our grade: Villanova. Lowest: at NC State, sacked 3 times. Biggest game: Ole Miss, No. 9. Best play: Completion for 19 yards, against Wake Forest, Q4 0:55. Win chance 25% to 52%.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

Season

Steady through the game

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game; on games with a lot of running it grades the passing only. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Dual-threat

Also: big-play arm

Why this word
Runs7.9 a gameRarelyA lot
Throws9.4 yards past the lineShortDeep
Completes67% by play-by-playFewerMore
Takes sacks6% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws at a middling depth and runs a lot. 7.9 carries a game. Closest matches: Lopez, Jennings, Russell, Fifita.

Where the throws go

Behind the line15%typical 17%
Short46%typical 47%
Middle23%typical 22%
Deep16%typical 14%

Runs 7.9 times a game; 87% of starters run less.

Closest in style

LopezJenningsRussellFifitaThis QB

Nearer the middle means more alike.

  • Lopez Wake Forest · Chain-mover
    2,176 yards, 18 TD, 1 INT so far. Both rarely throw behind the line and complete a lot.
  • Jennings SMU · Precision passer
    2,433 yards, 21 TD, 5 INT so far. Both are efficient and hit big plays.
  • Russell Alabama · Playmaker
    2,057 yards, 15 TD, 5 INT so far. Both complete a lot and hit big plays.
  • Fifita Arizona · Precision passer
    2,464 yards, 19 TD, 4 INT so far. Both score a lot and are efficient.

Compared with the 158 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 219 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

  • RecordLouisville is 5-3.
  • Fans after Stanford

    That hit on kienholz was more of a personal foul than like 30 of our 40 personal fouls this year

    Louisville fan

What’s being said

3 stories this week, from 4 outlets.

Oct 31: 2Nov 1: 1W 52-24 vs StanfordWOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 2
Oct 31: 2Nov 1: 1W 52-24 vs StanfordWOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 2
Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

Lincoln Kienholz has 3 total touchdowns to lead Louisville past Stanford 52-24

CBS News +1 Oct 31

All 83 stories this season

Worth knowing

  • Lincoln Kienholz has passed 2,000 passing yards through 8 games.
  • Lincoln Kienholz spent three seasons at Ohio State before this one.

His most important play this season

  1. Q3, 8:05 · Louisville down 13Lincoln Kienholz finds Tre Richardson for a 38-yard touchdownLouisville at NC State, week 5Q3, 8:05 · Louisville 14, NC State 20Tre Richardson's first 100-yard receiving game of 2026Tre Richardson's first 100-yard receiving game of 2026L.Kienholz pass complete short right to T.Richardson caught at NCSU35, for 38 yards to the NCSU00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN, kick goodWatch from this playESPN College Football

All 17 of his plays on video

Lincoln Kienholz

QB · Louisville · #3

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Lincoln Kienholz takes over from Miller Moss at Louisville.

2,094passing yards12passing TD313rushing yards

10.1 Y/A · QUALIFIED QBs

No.4

#4 YPA at 10.10 among qualified QBs.

Read the story so far

Lincoln Kienholz arrived as a 4-star prospect, the No.191 recruit nationally. Lincoln Kienholz lines up at QB for Louisville.

On the field, the headline is 2,094 pass yds, with 12 pass td.

Lincoln Kienholz inherited the QB job from Miller Moss (4-star).

The number to watch: No.4 — 10.1 y/a · qualified qbs.

QB successionleap of faith
  • Inherited fromMiller Moss 4★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04