It hasn’t been a season to remember but it was a fantastic finish for Kentucky at Louisville on Saturday.
The Wildcats (7-5) put the finishing touches on a winning season — the school’s seventh in the past eight years — with a 38-31 triumph over No. 10 Louisville to keep the coveted Governor’s Cup for the fifth straight year. Kentucky hasn’t lost to the Cardinals since Lamar Jackson led Louisville to a 44-17 rout of the Wildcats at Kroger Field to end the 2017 regular season.
Since then, it’s all been Kentucky, only this time the score was closer than the four previous outcomes that tilted in the Wildcats’ favor by double digits. The ranked Cardinals were favored and outgained Kentucky 403-289 but the difference occurred on the other side of the football.
After surrendering a nine-minute scoring drive on Louisville’s first possession and a nine-minute scoring stretch for the Cardinals to open the second half, Kentucky put an end to missed tackles and long, sustained drives by the hosts.
The Wildcats forced three turnovers, including two fumble recoveries by Louisville native J.J. Weaver, in the second half that kept the Cardinals out of the end zone. A scoop by Weaver late in the fourth quarter resulted in the decisive go-ahead score for the guests.
Granted, the upset didn’t make up for five losses in the previous six games, but it did provide momentum going into the postseason and enhanced the team’s bowl standing. It also gave the Wildcats bragging rights for one more year with their arch-rival.
It was a much-needed win for Kentucky, considering the Wildcats had lost five of their past six games, including a disappointing 17-14 decision to South Carolina a week ago in Columbia. The loss to the Gamecocks ended a tough stretch against Southeastern Conference foes, including blowout losses to Georgia and Alabama. They missed an opportunity against South Carolina, but didn’t lose sight of the importance of ending the regular season on a high note.
The performance against the Cardinals was reminiscent of the way the Wildcats performed during the first five weeks of the season. The final tally in the finale was the team’s best offensive output since a 45-28 win over Vanderbilt on Sept. 23, which seemed like an eternity during the team’s struggles during the past two months.
Despite pushing, shoving and yelling between the two teams, especially during pregame workouts, Kentucky played disciplined football when it mattered — on the field — and didn’t commit a penalty against their instate rival.
Kentucky likely will take a break before learning of its postseason destination, but the future of the program will be a hot topic after Wildcats coach Mark Stoops was linked to the head football coaching vacancy at Texas A&M prior to kickoff. Stoops has been mentioned as a potential replacement for his former boss — Jimbo Fisher — at College Station. Fisher was fired by the Aggies two weeks prior to today’s season finale against LSU.
Stoops didn’t specifically address the rumors following the contest, but instead kept the focus on his team.
“This is a big win for this state and team,” he said. “I’m good at keeping my concentration on this team.”
Keith Taylor is the sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com and via Twitter at keithtaylor21.