Blue Preview: Your one-click guide to Kentucky’s regular-season finale vs. Louisville
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Governor’s Cup preview: Kentucky at Louisville
The University of Kentucky football team concludes its 2021 regular season Saturday against archrival Louisville in the annual Governor’s Cup game at Cardinal Stadium. Click below to view all the stories previewing the game that have been published on Kentucky.com.
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Kentucky at Louisville
When: 7:30 p.m. (EST) Saturday.
Where: Cardinal Stadium (capacity 60,800).
TV: ESPN2 (play-by-play Chris Cotter; analysis, Mark Herzlich; sideline, Jalyn Johnson)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1.
Satellite Radio: TBA
Records: Kentucky (8-3, 5-3 SEC); Louisville (6-5, 4-4 ACC)
Series history: Kentucky leads 17-15 and the Wildcats have won three of the past four meetings.
Last meeting: Kentucky beat Louisville 45-13 on Nov. 30, 2019, at Kroger Field
Line: Louisville is favored by 1 point.
The story line
Kentucky will seek to retain the Governor’s Cup for the fourth time in the past five meetings with archrival Louisville and beat the Cardinals on their home field for the third straight time. Mark Stoops’ Wildcats will be seeking their 15th straight non-conference win.
The number to watch
UK’s turnovers. After turning the ball over four times and going minus-two in turnover margin in its 56-16 win over New Mexico State last week, Kentucky (minus-13) now ranks 129th out of 130 FBS teams in turnover margin (only Arizona, at minus-15, is worse). If, as many expect, Saturday’s showdown with Louisville becomes an offensive shootout, UK cannot afford to give away possessions nor give up cheap points.
The big threat
Malik Cunningham. The dual-threat Louisville quarterback turned in one of the best individual performances of the 2021 college football season in U of L’s 62-22 demolition of Duke last week. Through the air, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound redshirt junior completed 18 of 25 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, Cunningham ran for 224 yards and two scores. Given his 0-2 career record against UK as a starter, the Montgomery, Ala., product figures to be highly motivated for the Cats.
On the spot
The Kentucky defense. After carrying UK during the Wildcats’ 6-0 start, the Cats’ “D” has had a rough go in the second segment of the season. Opposing quarterbacks such as Mississippi State’s Will Rogers (36-of-39 passing for 344 yards vs. UK) and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker (15-of-20 for 316 yards and four scores) have had their way with Kentucky. Against another red-hot QB, coordinator Brad White’s unit needs to recapture at least some of its early-season mojo.
The mood
Is apprehensive. For much of the season, the Big Blue Nation had U of L penciled in as a UK victory. However, Kentucky’s second-half defensive struggles and a late-season Louisville offensive surge has raised the anxiety for UK backers. In terms of fan-base perception, how fondly the 2021 Wildcats football season will be remembered probably rides on the outcome of the Governor’s Cup rivalry.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 10:51 AM.
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