Cards Dominate From Start To Finish
With no postseason to play for Saturday’s annual “Battle For The Governor’s Cup” was in essence a bowl game. In addition, it gave Mark Stoops’ club a chance to go into 2025 on a positive note. However, it was not to be as season-long issues arose once again. In a hail of turnovers and poor play in general the Cards made easy work of the Cats. It’s ugly, but let’s break it down as Louisville regains the Governor’s Cup 41-14.
Not What They Were Hoping For
The season’s final game was Cutter Boley‘s shot to see what he could do at quarterback. After all, in the last two games he had outshone starter Brock Vandagriff. Things started well enough after taking the opening kickoff. Three runs by Jamarion Wilcox netted 28 yards. However, on that third run, he was stripped off the ball thus ending a promising drive.
The defenses took over for a while before Louisville got on the board. Isaac Brown plunged in from one yard out and it was 7-0. A Boley interception lead to a field goal. On the Cards’ next possession, Duke Watson went virtually untouched 58 yards and it was 17-0. Another field goal made it 20-0 at the half. It could have been a lot worse.
Signs Of Life
Boley was knocked out of the game early in the second half following a big hit ruled targeting. In at quarterback came Gavin Wimsatt, not Vandagriff. He immediately got the Cats on the board finding Ja’Mori Maclin on a pretty four-yard strike and suddenly Kentucky had hope.
That hope was short-lived as another fumble by Wilcox led to a scoop and score by Ramon Puryear making the lead 20 again. Another Watson TD made it 34-7 as he went 24 yards as he once again went pretty much untouched.
An 83 yard pass from Wimsatt to Maclin cut the lead to 20 but Louisville only needed 45 seconds to score. This time Watson went, wait for it, untouched 67 yards to the house. A Wimsatt interception ended Kentucky’s next drive and that was it as Louisville regained the Governor’s Cup 41-14.
Looking Ahead
With the win, Jeff Brohm’s Cards finish the regular season with an 8-4 mark. They’ll await their bowl destination next Sunday. Currently, Last Word has them in the Mayo Bowl. In the process,s the U of L head man gets his first win in the series. Louisville had lost five straight and six of the last seven to Kentucky.
On the other side of the ball a very disappointing season comes to an end for Stoops and the Cats. UK finishes at 4-8, the worst record since Stoops’ first year in Lexington. It’s the first time since 2015 that Kentucky won’t play in a bowl. In addition, he falls to 6-5 all-time against the Cards.
Final Thoughts
Saturday’s game went like many in 2024 for Kentucky. Some good things outdone by miscues and poor play. The Cats committed five turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles. In addition, they went 0-7 on third down and 0-1 on fourth. That’s not going to get it done.
Boley only connected on six of 15 passes for 48 yards and two picks. Wimsatt threw for 125 yards and two scores. Kentucky went into Saturday looking for some clarity on the quarterback position. Stoops said after the game they still plan on building around Boley.
Louisville held the ball for 35 minutes and rushed for 358 of their 486 yards. Brown gained 178 and two scores while Watson had 104 and two more scores. From start to finish it was total domination by Louisville.
What About The Future?
There’s no time for the Kentucky coaching staff to sulk on a bad season. Due to a change in the calendar National Signing Day is Wednesday, two weeks earlier than before. We’ll see if the Cats can hold on to a recruiting class that currently ranks 25th in the nation with 21 commits.
If that wasn’t enough transfer portal season opens Monday, December 9th. Will the Cats be active players in that? One area that needs to be addressed immediately is the offensive line which was pretty bad this year. Overall one expects a lot of turnover this year with players.
What about the head coach? Many in the BBN would like to see Tulane head coach and former Cat Jon Sumrall coaching the Cats. After the game, Stoops certainly didn’t sound like a man who was going anywhere.
“Everybody wants to replace me right now, but I’m not going anywhere. My butt is going to work tomorrow, and I’m going to try and be motivated as hell to get this thing fixed and get better.”
In the end, a disappointing season comes to an end as does Kentucky’s 23-game non-conference regular season win streak. Louisville regains the Governor’s Cup 41-14 and the Cats start thinking about 2025.
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