5 things you need to know from UK football’s humiliating 41-0 loss at Louisville
Five things you need to know from Kentucky football’s 41-0 loss at Louisville in the battle for the Governor’s Cup:
1. An embarrassing showing by UK. Louisville entered the battle for the Governors’ Cup reeling.
The Cardinals had lost three straight games.
U of L was so beaten up physically, it was without all four of its scholarship running backs and its top wide receiver, Chris Bell.
Yet, with all that Louisville firepower sidelined, the Cardinals’ offense nevertheless throttled Kentucky.
In half one alone, U of L outgained UK 265-71. For the game, it was 440-147.
Cardinals quarterback Miller Moss, who was uncertain to play due to his own physical maladies, completed 9 of 13 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He finished the game 12 of 20 for 182 yards with three TD throws.
During the second half, the Cardinals uncorked a 17-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that consumed a combined 10:27 of the third and fourth quarters.
Braxton Jennings, a freshman walk-on from Ashland, ran for 113 yards on 20 carries.
Shaun Boykins Jr., a converted wide receiver from North Hardin, ran 22 times for 101 yards and a touchdown.
With the UK fan base already restive for a coaching change, this was exactly the opposite of what Mark Stoops needed to put on the field in the Governor’s Cup rivalry.
2. Kentucky was thoroughly dominated in the trenches. When UK was winning the Governor’s Cup rivalry with U of L six times in seven years between 2016 and 2023, the main reason was Wildcats’ dominance along the line of scrimmage.
That has now totally flipped.
The Louisville offensive line opened gaping holes that allowed U of L runners to amass 258 yards rushing. Cardinals quarterback Miller Moss was sacked only one time.
Meanwhile, the Louisville defensive front held Kentucky to 147 total yards, only 40 on the ground. UK quarterback Cutter Boley was sacked a whopping five times before halftime and six times in the game.
If you want to understand how Jeff Brohm has flipped control of our state’s galvanizing football rivalry, you need look no further than the line of scrimmage.
3. Kentucky’s special teams were anything but. On the Wildcats’ second offensive possession, Louisville defensive lineman Eric Hazzard blocked an Aidan Laros punt. U of L’s Terrence McWilliams returned the blocked punt to the UK 10-yard line.
That set up the Cardinals’ first touchdown of the game — and seemed to set the tone for the remainder of the contest.
UK’s special teams problems were just starting.
A nice Kendrick Law kickoff return to the UK 35-yard line was negated by a holding penalty.
In the second quarter, Louisville punt returner Caullin Lacy watched as a booming Laros punt rolled along the turf. After the UK punt return team relaxed, Lacy picked the ball up and returned it 15 yards to the U of L 46.
That led to a Cooper Ranvier field goal and a 20-0 Cardinals halftime lead.
On Kentucky’s first punt of the second half, Louisville’s punt rush harried Laros into a 16-yard punt that gave the Cardinals the ball at the UK 37.
4. Cutter Boley’s second shot at the Cardinals. As a true freshman last year, the Kentucky quarterback made his first career start against Louisville in the Cardinals’ 41-14 win over UK.
Boley finished 6-for-15 passing for 48 yards and threw two interceptions. The Lexington Christian Academy star was knocked from the game on Kentucky’s first drive of the third quarter by a hit that led to the ejection of Louisville defensive lineman Thor Griffith for targeting.
In Boley’s second shot vs. U of L, things did not go a lot better.
Boley finished 14 of 27 passing for 107 yards. He threw two interceptions.
It is hardly shocking for a redshirt freshman quarterback, but Boley performed much better in home games this season than on the road.
In five starts plus a late-game substitute role against Mississippi at Kroger Field, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Lexington Christian Academy alumnus completed 74.6% of his throws for 1,270 yards with 10 touchdowns versus three interceptions.
Entering play Saturday, it had been a different story for Boley on the road. In UK’s previous four road contests, Boley completed 59.4% of his throws for 840 yards with five TD throws versus seven picks.
5. Distressing UK football numbers. Over its final two games of this season — at Vanderbilt and at Louisville — Kentucky was outscored 86-17.
In its past two meetings with U of L, UK has been outscored 82-14.
During those two losses to Louisville, Kentucky has given up 616 rushing yards to the Cardinals.
Kentucky is 5-21 in its past 26 games against power-conference teams dating back to Oct. 7, 2023.
Fashion police
For its 2025 regular-season finale, Kentucky wore silver chrome helmets, white jerseys with blue letters and numbers and white pants.
This was the fourth straight time UK has worn silver chrome-white-white uniform combo at Louisville. The Wildcats are now 3-1 in those contests.
This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 3:25 PM.
