Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After taking down Miami to ensure themselves a spot in the ACC Championship Game, the Louisville football program has just one game left in the regular season, returning home for a rivalry showdown with Kentucky.

Here are some of the more notable storylines heading into Saturday's game:

Louisville Not Overlooking Kentucky to ACC Championship vs. Florida State

While the Battle for the Governor's Cup will mark the final game of the regular season for Louisville, they still have one more game between Kentucky and their bowl game. Their win last weekend at Miami officially clinched them a spot in the 2023 ACC Championship, where a showdown with Florida State awaits. It's not only Louisville's first appearance in the ACC title game since joining the conference in 2014, but their first time in a conference title game period.

Even with a monumental showdown with the Seminoles on the other side of their matchup with the Wildcats, Louisville's players are sticking to the "one-game season" mentality that they have utilized all season.

"It was a big thing for us accomplishing one of our goals for the season, but I think Coach Brohm has done a really good job of instilling in us this one game season (mindset), and just being able to kind of reset our focus after we get back on campus or after the game is over," center Bryan Hudson said. "We celebrated it, and we're really happy about the game, but I think we've already turned the page and really have all our focus on this next game."

Even with the ACC Championship against FSU and - in all likelihood - a New Year's Six bowl to end the season, head coach Jeff Brohm still calls the Kentucky game the "most important game" out of the three remaining games for the Cardinals.

“After we let the last win (at Miami) sink in, we had to explain to our team yesterday in a lot of different ways that that needs to be erased for a full week and the full focus needs to be on this game, because in my opinion, this is the most important game of the rest of the season," he said. "So we can talk about it all we want, this is the most important game, and our guys need to understand that preparing and trying to win this game needs to be the complete focus. If we want to make our fans happy, and give them a good Thanksgiving, we've got to go win the game."

Brohm, Louisville Determined to Reverse Trends in Rivalry with Kentucky

As most Cardinals fans know by now, the annual Battle for the Governor's Cup hasn't exactly been a fun and exciting rivalry as of late. The Wildcats will be entering Saturday's matchup riding a four-game win streak in the series, all coming via blowout fashion.

In his first rivalry game as the head coach at Louisville, Brohm is determined to reverse the Cardinals' recent trends in their rivalry with Kentucky.

"It’s a one game season and I think we all know what's coming up," he said. "It's a rivalry game against a really good, talented opponent that's well coached and that's won a lot of games against our program over the last four years. So we've got to get back to work and really understand what this game means. It means a lot to not only our team, but to our fan base and to our program, and we've got to find a way to have a great week of practice and work really hard to try to come out with a win."

On a laundry list of complaints that the Louisville fanbase had with Satterfield, arguably their biggest one was how the former Cardinals head coach viewed and approached the rivalry with Kentucky. Satterfield never truly seemed to embrace the rivalry in his four years at the helm, or at the very least, fully understand its magnitude despite repeated attempts.

Brohm, on the other hand, is not one that needs to be briefed on what the Louisville-Kentucky rivalry means to the fanbase.

“I think rivalries are great to play in, even dating back to my high school days," he said. "I understand the Trinity vs. St. Xavier rivalry and what that's all about. Not only does it mean a lot to your school, but to the fan base and to the city. And I think when it comes to in-state rivalries in college football and basketball, they're a lot of fun. It’s fun for everybody to be a part of and everybody wants to come to the game to watch it and cheer on their team and try to have bragging rights."

Running Back Ray Davis Anchoring Kentucky's Offense

On the offensive side of the ball, Kentucky has been largely disappointing. The Wildcats' 338.7 yards and 27.7 points per game rank 98th and 64th in the FBS, respectively, which is has been largely tied to the struggles that NC State quarterback Devin Leary has had. That all being said, UK still has a deadly weapon at their disposal in the form of running back Ray Davis.

"We’re going to have our hands full," Brohm said of Davis. "This running game is good. They've gone against great defensive fronts already this year in Georgia and Alabama and even other teams, and they're going to try to run the ball right at us. They ran for, I don't know, 300, 400 yards against Florida. I mean, these guys know how to run the ball, utilize their tight ends, utilize their offensive line and play action off of it, so we have to have a good plan."

The 5-foot-9, 215-pound running back is third in the SEC in rushing yards with 990, and second in the SEC in rushing touchdowns with 12. According to Pro Football Focus, his 91.9 rushing grade is the fourth-highest among FBS running backs.

However, in recent week, Davis' efficiency and usage has taken a significant downturn. Over the first seven games of the season, Davis had 112 rushing attempts for 781 yards (6.97 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns. But in the last four games, Davis has received only 61 carries for 209 yards (3.43 yards per carry) and four touchdowns.

Davis has been fully aware of his low usage rate in recent weeks. Following Kentucky's loss to South Carolina last weekend, Davis posted a since-deleted Tweet that read: "it is what it is. Thought I was the bell cow."

Isaac Guerendo Stepping Up Amid Nagging Injury to Jawhar Jordan

Over the first half of the season, Louisville's Jawhar Jordan established himself as one of the most dynamic and explosive running backs in all of college football. But since suffered a hamstring injury before the game at Pitt, Jordan hasn't been nearly as effective as he was to start the season. After rushing for 653 yards in the first six games, he's rushed for only 356 in the last five.

"He did get nicked up a few weeks back, and he's been battling through some things," running backs coach Chris Barclay said. "His game is predicated on speed a lot of times, and if you got a bad wheel or something's not quite feeling, it can have an impact on his game. He has been able to give us everything he has for last couple of weeks, and that's what I respect most about the kid. He hasn't shut it down. He's battling through it."

With Louisville's offense taking a surprising run-heavy approach in Brohm's first year as the head coach, someone else was going to have to step up. That someone was Isaac Guerendo.

Over the first eight games of the season, the transfer from Wisconsin was used sparingly, rushing for only 252 yards and three touchdowns. But in the last three games, Guerendo has absolutely exploded, rushing for 333 yards against a whopping 10.4 yards per carry average, as well as five touchdowns.

"I think Isaac has really done a great job for us," Brohm said. "He's got good size, he's got good speed, he's really got good hands. ... Jawhar and Maurice (Turner) are really good players as well, but he gives us something different. He can run downhill, he's got physicality, he's got size."

(Photo of YaYa Diaby, Will Levis: Matt Stone - Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter