Cards Travel Up the Road to Face Kentucky in Regular Season Finale
November 29, 2024 | Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -Â Â The University of Louisville concludes its regular season on Saturday, traveling up the road to Lexington to face Kentucky in the annual battle for the Governor's Cup. Kickoff is set for noon ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
The Cards are 7-4 on the season, coming off a dominating performance at home last Saturday versus Pitt. Tyler Shough was efficient going 17-of-28 for 293 yards and a pair of scores, while the defense held the Panthers to just 265 yards and 75 coming on the ground.
Our guys understand it's a rivalry game; it's a game we haven't won in quite some time and we're going to have to play well to win," UofL head coach Jeff Brohm said. "So, you can throw out any records for this game, you've got to show up ready to play. Kentucky is a very talented team, [they have] a lot of the same guys on defense they had last year. They can hold people to a small amount of points. They've got very capable athletes on offense as well. We've got to continue to improve and eliminate some silly mistakes we've made in the past and be as clean as we possibly can in [offense, defense and special teams] in order to win. We're looking forward to going on the road and playing in this rivalry game this weekend."Â
Kentucky is 4-7 this year after a loss on the road to No. 3 Texas last Saturday.
The Wildcats have won the last five games against the Cardinals, tying a Louisville five-game winning streak from 2011-15 for the longest streak in the series. Last season, Kentucky upset the ninth-ranked Cardinals 38-31 at Louisville as the Cardinals turned the football over three times in the loss..
Brohm coached in first first UofL-UK rivalry game last season, a game the Cardinals dominated before key turnovers and a special teams touchdown turned the tables.
"Well, I think the fans love rivalry games without question," Brohm said. "The Louisville-Kentucky match-up in football and basketball and other sports is huge around the state, it's huge in this city. Everybody wears their red and blue and you want bragging rights for the year. These games are fun for fans, it's fun for players that know each other, it's one of those games that just like at any level, it doesn't matter what your record is, you want to win the game. It's an important game on your schedule, and you circle it, and you make sure that you come prepared and ready to play and you hope to play your best. Without question we haven't been able to win the game the last so many years, so it's time for us to step up and find a way to play better."Â
The Wildcats made a change at the quarterback position going with local product Cutter Bolley, who was impressive in relief last week against Texas. Bolley was 10-of-8 for 180 yards and an interception in the 31-14 loss.
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"Well, they've played multiple quarterbacks, and they have capable quarterbacks. Obviously, the experienced veterans they brought in from Georgia can play football and has played. In think they brought in the young man that's from the state of Kentucky that's athletic and can run around and make plays and do some things with his feet as well. I think they possibly found their quarterback of the future this past week who's a true freshman. That's three different guys that they can put in at different times and give the team a spark. We got to prepare for all three of them. I'm sure behind the scenes they know what they're going to do, but all three of those guys can play and we got to be ready."
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The Series
• Saturday's game marks the 36th meeting between the two teams in a series that began in 1912.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 20-15 and owns the last five wins.
• The Wildcats have won the last five straight, tying Louisville (2011-15) for the longest streak in the Governor's Cup era.
• The series is tied in Lexington, 10-10. Louisville last win at Lexington came in 2017 -- a 44-17 win.
• Kentucky won the first six meetings in the series from 1912-24, then the two teams didn't meet again until 1994.
• UK and UofL have met every year since 1994, marking the Governor's Cup era, except for the Covid-19 altered season in 2020.
• Since 1994, UofL leads the series 15-14.
