A Win and You’re In For Kentucky

The annual “Battle For The Governor’s Cup” is always an emotional game. For the Kentucky football team, the mission couldn’t be any clearer. A win Saturday puts the Wildcats in a bowl game for the ninth time in ten years. However, it certainly won’t be an easy task. Not only do they have to beat their arch-rival on the road, but they face a familiar face on the other sideline. Let’s take a look at both teams, give some series history, and make a score prediction as it’s win and you’re in for Kentucky versus Louisville.

Saturday’s game marks the first time the schools have met since Vince Marrow sent shock waves through the state by leaving Kentucky for Louisville. Friends since high school in Youngstown, Ohio, Marrow was Mark Stoops’ right-hand man, spending 12 years helping build the Wildcat program.

The recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach headed up Interstate 64 to become executive director of football personnel and recruiting. It’s a time when coaching changes are a dime a dozen; this one was a huge surprise.

Speaking of the Wildcats’ opponent, let’s look at Louisville, as it’s win and you’re in for Kentucky.

On November 1st, Jeff Brohm’s team sat at 7-1 and was ranked 14th in the country. Their wins included the second-ranked Miami and Pittsburgh. However, since then, it’s been a totally different story. Three straight losses have taken them out of the ACC Championship race. They lost to Clemson and California at home before falling 38-6 to SMU last Saturday.

A big part of the recent slide has been injuries. As it stands right now, star wide receiver Chris Bell, along with running backs Issac Brown and Keyjuan Brown, are not expected to play. Bell is third in the ACC with 72 receptions, second with 917 yards, and leads with six touchdowns. The two Brown’s have combined for 1,374 yards and 11 scores.

As if that wasn’t enough, starting quarterback Miller Moss is listed as questionable. He’s thrown for 2,344 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, he does have seven interceptions.  If he can’t go, then Deuce Adams gets the nod. Even when everyone’s healthy, the offense has struggled this year. They’ve only cracked 30 points once since the end of September.

The defense has played well, allowing more than 30 points only once this year, and that was last week. Linebacker TJ Quinn leads the way with 77 tackles, a sack, and two interceptions. Right behind him is defensive back D’Angelo Hutchinson, who has 69 stops and a pick.

Now that we’ve looked at both teams, let’s give you some history, as it’s win-and-you’re-in for Kentucky.

Overall, Kentucky leads the series 20-16. The two schools met six times between 1912 and 1924, with the Cats winning them all. They didn’t meet again for 70 years until the rivalry was renewed in 1994. Since then, Louisville leads by a 16-14 margin. Of course, the records show UK has one less win as the 2021 victory was vacated due to NCAA sanctions.

An interesting note is that home-field advantage hasn’t meant much since the rivalry was renewed. Kentucky is 8-5 at Louisville while the Cards are 11-6 in Lexington. Last season, U of L snapped a five-game losing streak, blowing out the Wildcats 41-14. 

That contest marked the first-ever start for Cutter Boley. He finished the day 6-for-15 passing for only 48 yards and two interceptions. In addition, he got knocked out of the game in the third quarter.

As we do every week, it’s prediction time as it’s win and you’re in for Kentucky.

The Wildcats want to forget the debacle against Vanderbilt as soon as possible. A win Saturday not only puts the Cats in a bowl game but also puts the fan base in a much better frame of mind. Of course, beating your rival is always good. However, beating your rival, who now has one of your longtime top assistants on their staff, is even better.

Not only are the Cards hurting, but the Wildcats are too. They were down the starting free safety and three top cornerbacks, and it definitely showed against the Commodores. Thankfully for the BBN, Louisville isn’t Vanderbilt offensively.

For the Cats to win, they’ll need bounce-back games from running backs Seth McGowan and Dante Dowdell. UK only had 31 yards rushing against Vandy. Control the ball with the run, and that should open up the passing game for Boley to find his favorite target, Kendrick Law. 

Since this became the last game of the season, Kentucky had two chances to win and get bowl eligible. The Cats lost both in 2014 and 2015. The third time’s the charm as Stoops gets the last laugh.