Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for the Courier-Journal's Ryan Black

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As quickly as football season arrived, there's just one week left in the regular season. For the Louisville football program, they'll get a chance to earn state bragging rights this weekend, hosting rival Kentucky in the annual Governor's Cup showdown.

Kickoff between Jeff Brohm's Cardinals and Mark Stoops' Wildcats is set for Saturday, Nov. 29 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

Ahead of this weekend's matchup with Kentucky, Louisville Cardinals On SI sat down with the Courier-Journal's Ryan Black to find out more about the Wildcats.

1. Kentucky had a rough start to their 2025 season, but have looked much improved over the last month. What has been the primary difference in this team?

It sounds straightforward, right? But the biggest difference between the beginning of the season (2-5 overall, 0-5 in SEC games) is the offense — at long last — started scoring points. As you might recall entering last year’s Governor’s Cup, I cited this stat:In eight conference games in 2024, UK’s offense crossed the goal line a measly 10 times. And not once in those eight outings did the Wildcats manage more than two offensive touchdowns. Kentucky then “accomplished that feat” (tongue in cheek here) again in the 41-14 loss to Louisville, scoring just two TDs on offense. Its lack of offensive punch continued through the first three league games this fall. That made it a dozen games versus power-conference foes UK failed to reach the three-offensive-TD threshold under coordinator Bush Hamdan. The unit’s luck finally began to turn around in the loss to Tennessee; yes, the result (a 56-34 setback) was lopsided, but the offense wasn’t to blame for once. The group then scored five more times in a rout of Florida. It hasn’t been perfect— both Auburn and Vanderbilt kept Kentucky’s offense in check. But compared to how pitiful the Wildcats were priorto last year’s meeting with the Cardinals? They’ll take the offensive uptick this season.

2. With all the chatter that has surrounded Mark Stoops’ job status, has that impacted how he views this upcoming game?

One of Stoops’ most common refrains is how reporters “won’t get a headline” from him following to-the-point (and sometimes hypothetical) questions. He’s never downplayed the importance of the Governor’s Cup rivalry. Nor has he shied away this season from acknowledging the outside noise about his future with the program as the SEC losing streak (overall and in home games) continued. That being said, nothing about his job security (or lack thereof) has influenced how he views Saturday’s game. (And even if it did, he wouldn’t say it publicly.) He wants to win for two reasons: 1. Returning the Governor’s Cup trophy to Lexington; 2. Returning to a bowl after last season ended an eight-year run of postseason trips.

3. How has quarterback Cutter Boley grown as the year has gone on, and what are areas that he needs to improve in?

Even the untrained eye can see how much more comfortable Boley has been the past month compared to his first few appearances. Simply look at his completion percentage for proof. And it’s also showing in the confidence he’s displayed on the field. A confident player is a dangerous one, right? The biggest area he needs to improve on, as with all young signal callers, is cutting down on turnovers. Despite his stellar completion rate the past six games, he’s still tossed seven interceptions. Once he begins keeping those mistakes to a minimum? He should be one of the best players in the country at his position.

4. Who are the X-Factors to look for on both sides of the ball come Saturday?

On offense, look at Kendrick Law. He was brought in to play a similar role to Barion Brown, circa 2022-24: the ability to turn a 5-yard catch into a 60-yard one, while also leaning on his top-flight speed as a threat on jet sweeps. After a string of stout performances (he combined for 23 catches in a three-game stretch versus Auburn, Florida and Tennessee Tech), he was nowhere to be found last week. Vandy limited him to just 5 yards on three receptions. He’ll be aiming for redemption Saturday.

Defensively, with injuries increasingly cropping up across the unit, two linebackers have stepped up: Daveren Rayner and Grant Godfrey. The pair combined for a whopping 24 tackles in last week’s loss, with Rayner tallying 15 and Godfrey collecting nine. They better adopt a “burn the boats” mentality. There ain’t no reinforcements on the way. What they’ve got in the defensive meeting room is all they’ve got this late in the season.

5. What is the one thing Kentucky must do if they are to pull off the upset?

Establish the run. It was non-existent last week, when the Wildcats produced just 31 yards on 19 carries. (It’s 43 yards rushing if you remove the yardage lost by Boley on sacks.) Boley has proven he can win games with his arm. But do the Wildcats really want to tempt fate? On the road? In a rivalry game? The same one in which he made his first career college start last season? The same one in which he struggled immensely? The same one he didn’t finish due to injury? To answer all of those questions concisely: Kentucky’s best game plan for success Saturday is making sure its ground game gets going. If that occurs, it will allow Boley to play more freely and pick his spots in the passing game.

More Cardinals Stories