Kentucky and Louisville might not like each other, but both love to run the football
One of the more interesting aspects of this year’s Governor’s Cup is the supposed contrast in styles.
Yes, Kentucky and Louisville both want to run the football. But where UK employs an approach even head coach Mark Stoops has termed methodical, U of L under first-year coach Scott Satterfield seems to always be producing the explosive play.
Or so I thought. Upon a deeper dive, if the approach is different, the results are pretty much the same. Consider:
▪ Kentucky is 12th in the nation in rushing offense at 252.4 yards per game. Louisville is 25th nationally in rushing offense at 214.6 yards per game.
▪ Kentucky is fifth nationally in yards per rush at 5.81. That ranks behind only Clemson, Louisiana-Lafayette, Oklahoma and Ohio State. Louisville is 28th nationally in yards per rush at 4.99.
▪ Since Lynn Bowden has taken over at quarterback six games ago, UK is averaging 6.44 yards per rush. In last week’s 50-7 romp over FCS member UT Martin, the Cats set a school single-game rushing record with 462 yards, and averaged 10.3 yards per carry.
▪ With Bowden at quarterback, the Cats have averaged 325.3 rushing yards per game. They’ve also outgained five of their six opponents in total yards. The exception came in the loss to now fourth-ranked Georgia.
▪ Satterfield on Bowden: “The one that’s playing quarterback now. He’s an outstanding athlete. It’s been pretty amazing to see. (They had him) at wide receiver and put him at quarterback and still been very effective moving the football.”
▪ It should be noted that with Bowden at quarterback, Kentucky has run the football 81.5 percent of the time. Before Bowden, the Cats ran the football 50.3 percent. (For the season, Louisville has run the football 64.7 percent of its plays.)
▪ One more note on Bowden: Over his six games at QB, the junior is averaging 142 rushing yards. Consider that Oklahoma State’s wonderfully named Chuba Hubbard currently leads the nation in rushing at 166.6 yards per game. Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor is second at 153.2 per game. (Bowden would be third.)
▪ Though Louisville owns a big-play reputation, Kentucky actually leads the nation in rushes of 20-or-more yards with 39. U of L is eighth with 29.
▪ Ah, but here’s the difference: Louisville has completed 30 passes for 25-or-more yards, which ranks 25th nationally. Kentucky has completed just 14 passes for 25-or-more yards, which ranks 119th out of 130 FBS teams nationally.
▪ In its 56-34 win over Syracuse last week, Louisville produced six runs for 20-or-more yards. Louisville’s Javian Hawkins had a 44-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, then added a 47-yard run in the fourth quarter.
▪ By the way, Hawkins is 11th nationally in rushing at 116.2 yards per game. The Titusville, Florida, native has already rushed for 1,278 yards on the season. He’s had six 100-yard rushing games, including 233 against Syracuse and 172 against Boston College.
▪ In trouncing UT Martin, Kentucky had seven runs of 20-or-more yards, including a 63-yard run by A.J. Rose, a 58-yard run by Bowden, a 53-yard run by freshman Travis Tisdale and a 45-yard run by walk-on Tyler Markray.
▪ Oh yeah, says Louisville, the Cardinals completed four passes of 20-or-more yards against Syracuse, including a 90-yard TD hookup between quarterback Micale Cunningham and Tutu Atwell.
▪ Stoops on Atwell: “Tutu is the type of players that can change the outcome at any given moment. Really some elite speed and they do a nice job of creating for him, much like Lynn when he was at receiver for us, getting him the fly sweeps. They are going to give him the ball at least two times a game, maybe three, on those just quick, easy-access (plays) and get him the ball in space. He can run.”
▪ Both teams can run to the point where Saturday may well boil down to who can best contain the run — Kentucky’s improving defense which ranks 22nd nationally in total yards allowed, or Louisville’s bend-don’t break defense that ranks 102nd, but has come up with some key stops.
Saturday
Louisville at Kentucky
When: Noon
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Louisville 7-4, Kentucky 6-5
Series: Kentucky leads 16-15
Last meeting: Kentucky won 56-10 on Nov. 24, 2018, in Louisville.
