Posted on Tue, Apr. 22, 2008

Cats-Cards: exception to rivalry rule?

UK'S DEPTH MIGHT FOIL FOOTBALL FORMULA THAT FAVORS U OF L

By Mark Story

HERALD-LEADER SPORTS COLUMNIST

Mark Story

» Video: Mark Story on UK-UofL football series

You've got 130 days. To whet your anticipation; buy all the preview magazines; and get your red/blue loathing on.

As you read this, it's exactly 130 days until Kentucky and Louisville renew the Governor's Cup football rivalry.

Last year's UK-U of L battle was the most anticipated in the modern history of the series. Both teams had legitimate reason to think they'd be strong -- a rarity in the history of our state's signature college football rivalry.

Both had an unusual level of star power in the offensive skill positions, starting with senior stars in quarterbacks Andre Woodson and Brian Brohm.

The homegrown QB standouts are gone, and so are a bevy of future NFL receivers from both schools.

So the appeal of this year's intrastate Armageddon is the unknown.

As a general rule for early-season rivalry games when, on paper, the talent level looks relatively close, I tend to favor A.) the team with the more experienced quarterback; B.) the team whose head coach needs the game the most.

Projected U of L starting quarterback Hunter Cantwell has made a whopping four career starts -- but that's four more under center than any quarterback on the Kentucky roster.

In the four full games he played in place of an injured Brohm, Cantwell led the Cardinals to three road wins and played well in defeat against Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl.

As for which coach needs victory the most, it's sort of like debating whether the Earth is round -- there is no argument at all.

Kentucky's Rich Brooks enters 2008 having won 13 of his last 19 games. By the meager modern standards of UK football, that qualifies as darned near a Golden Age.

Conversely, I'm not sure I've ever seen a first-year coach lose a fan base as quickly as Louisville's Steve Kragthorpe did during 2007's disappointing 6-6 season.

To produce the results he did at previously moribund Tulsa, Kragthorpe has to be a better coach than his first U of L team's play suggested. The quickest way for him to earn a buy-in from his players and to unify a restive fan base would be to put an opening-game smackdown on Louisville's archrival.

Since both the quarterback-experience advantage and the-coach-who-needs-it-most edge go to the Red and Black, Louisville should be sitting pretty by late on the evening of Aug. 30, right?

Well, as a former U of L football coach is wont to say, not so fast my friend.

To a degree that would have seemed stunning two seasons ago when U of L hung a 59-28 pasting on the Cats, there have been several signs since the 2007 football season ended that the UK program is now on firmer footing than Louisville's.

In recruiting, Kragthorpe & Co. felt the need to go for the quick fix with nine junior-college signees. That may work out, but such reliance on jucos is rarely a good sign for the overall health of a program.

At the end of spring practice, Brooks was confident enough about the overall depth of talent at UK to divide his team equally and play what was a passable version of a real game. Meanwhile, Kragthorpe had his offense scrimmage against his defense for the U of L spring game.

That probably doesn't mean much toward who will win on Aug. 30. It does suggest that the depth of football talent presently runs deeper on the east end of I-64.

The best news for UK out of Kentucky's Blue/White Game Saturday was that both quarterbacks bidding to replace Woodson looked respectable.

Neither Curtis Pulley nor Mike Hartline throws the ball (especially the deep ball) anywhere close to Woodson's level. At least on Saturday, both threw the ball well enough. And both are far more capable runners than was Woodson.

Along with an uncertain QB starter, UK fans can spend the summer fretting over their team's lack of proven wide receivers (in the non-Dicky Lyons Jr. division) and the inconsistencies of incumbent kickers Lones Seiber (place-kicking) and Tim Masthay (punter).

"There is enough talent on this team, we should be as good as we have been," Brooks said Saturday. "Now, we may be as good as we have been in a different way."

In 130 days, we see if Kentucky's "as good as we have been in a different way" can produce a second straight win over Louisville.