Louisville snaps Kentucky’s Governor’s Cup winning streak to end disappointing UK season
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Game day: Louisville 41, Kentucky 14
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Louisville football game at Kroger Field.
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One week after Kentucky football’s eight-year bowl streak officially came to an end with a loss at Texas, the Wildcats’ five-game winning streak in the Governor’s Cup rivalry was snapped with a 41-14 loss to Louisville.
When Stoops announced Monday that freshman Cutter Boley would start at quarterback after shining off the bench in UK’s last two games there was at least hope the Wildcats could enter the offseason on a high note with a rivalry win and a strong showing from Boley to give hope for the future of the offense. Instead, Boley completed just six of 15 passes for 48 yards and two interceptions before his game ended early in the third quarter due to a helmet-to-helmet hit that saw Louisville defensive lineman Thor Griffith ejected for targeting.
Redshirt freshman running back Jamarion Wilcox, one of the other rare bright spots for a UK offense that failed to score more than 20 points against a Power Four opponent this season, lost two fumbles, the second of which was returned for a touchdown shortly after backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt briefly gave the Wildcats hope with a third-quarter touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 20-7.
Louisville pounded its way to 358 yards rushing and forced three Kentucky turnovers. Two different Cardinals (Isaac Brown and Duke Watson) topped 100 rushing yards with two touchdowns.
The victory is Louisville’s first in the rivalry since 2017. The two teams did not meet in 2020 after the SEC moved to a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The loss of the Louisville winning streak is the latest blow in a downward spiral in Stoops’ program since 2022. UK’s all-time winningest coach is now 12-17 since signing his last contract extension the day before the 2022 loss to Vanderbilt at Kroger Field.
UK finishes the 2024 season at 4-8, marking its lowest win total since Stoops’ first UK team went 2-10 in 2013.
TURNING POINT
Kentucky offense looked inept throughout, but the defense at least kept the Wildcats in the game for a quarter. The outcome was all but decided, though, after Boley threw his first interception on the first play of the third quarter. Louisville defensive back Tamarion McDonald, who had recovered a fumble on UK’s first drive, returned the interception 10 yards to the UK 40-yard line.
Despite the short field, UK’s defense was able to hold Louisville to a 21-yard field goal after a touchdown was overturned by an illegal touching penalty. Those three points were ultimately decisive though as they stretched the lead to 10-0. Kentucky has rallied from a double-digit deficit just once since the 2019 Belk Bowl.
MVP
Instead of Boley and Wilcox sending UK into the offseason on a high note, it was a Louisville freshman who stole the show as running back Isaac Brown totaled 178 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. In the process, he broke Lamar Jackson’s Louisville freshman rushing record. Brown capped his stellar showing with a 67-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
KEY STAT
Kentucky entered the game having won its last 19 regular-season nonconference games, the second-longest streak in the country. Stoops build much of his success at Kentucky by outperforming regular opponents Louisville, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi State and Florida, but UK was swept by Louisville, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida that season while Mississippi State and Missouri dropped from the schedule as annual opponents.
This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 3:14 PM.
