The modern history of UK-Louisville has had plenty of blowouts. This was the biggest.
The 25th game since the rekindling of the Kentucky-Louisville football series also turned out to be the most lopsided of the modern era.
UK defeated U of L, 56-10, on Saturday night at Cardinal Stadium, amassing 601 yards and sending six different players to the end zone — Benny Snell and Lynn Bowden each got there twice — to push Louisville to a 2-10 record in a lost season. Kentucky, meanwhile, improved to 9-3 and stayed on course for a New Year’s Day bowl game.
The only final margin that was wider in this series came in 1922, when UK defeated Louisville by a score 73-0. The two rivals played just one more time (two years later) before a 70-year-break in the series.
Here’s a countdown of the five most lopsided games since the rivalry was renewed in 1994:
2004: Louisville 28, Kentucky 0
A low point in the early years of Rich Brooks’ tenure, Shane Boyd and the UK offense failed to cross midfield in the first half and never scored, the only time that’s ever happened to either team in the modern history of this rivalry. The Cardinals went on to an 11-1 record (with a victory over Boise State in the Liberty Bowl) and the Cats finished 2-9 in their second season under Brooks. UK was just a nine-point underdog on the road in this season opener.
1999: Louisville 56, Kentucky 28
After two straight UK victories in the series, the Cards struck back in a big way in the first game at a newly expanded Commonwealth Stadium. U of L quarterback Chris Redman threw five touchdown passes, and the Cardinals — just three-point favorites — rolled over the Cats in front of an announced attendance of 70,692. It was the first of three straight Louisville victories in the series.
2006: Louisville 59, Kentucky 28
The Cardinals were 22½-point favorites at home to start the year, and they exceeded those lofty expectations, though they did lose star running back Michael Bush to a season-ending leg injury in the third quarter. Bush, a Louisville native, never played another college football game before heading off to the NFL. The Wildcats, somewhat surprisingly, went on to an 8-5 season under Rich Brooks that culminated in an upset victory over Clemson in the Music City Bowl. Brooks ended up winning his final three games over the Cardinals after this loss.
1998: Kentucky 68, Louisville 34
The best season of Hal Mumme’s stint as UK’s head coach started with a 34-point shellacking of the Cardinals (in the first game at their brand new stadium, no less). Tim Couch threw for 498 yards — at the time a school record — and seven touchdowns, which is still a school record. The Cats amassed 801 yards of total offense, and the Cardinals — 11-point underdogs — never had a chance. UK’s season ended with a 7-5 record and an Outback Bowl loss to Penn State, the last time the Cats have played in a New Year’s Day bowl game.
2018: Kentucky 56, Louisville 10
More than 20 years after Couch and the Cats blew out the Cards, it was Terry Wilson and a total team effort putting a pounding on the home team. Wilson had 340 yards of total offense (with three touchdowns through the air and another on the ground), Benny Snell and AJ Rose both topped 100 yards rushing, and the Cats never punted, dominating their rivals from start to finish to cap their regular season with a 9-3 record. UK has now taken two of the last three games from Louisville — both in Cardinal Stadium — after dropping five straight in the series before that. While the Wildcats’ await what will be their most prestigious bowl assignment in decades, the Cards will be looking for a new head coach after the midseason firing of Bobby Petrino.
Biggest blowouts in modern UK-U of L series
This story was originally published November 25, 2018 at 12:27 AM.