Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Kentucky

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville football's matchup vs. Kentucky.

Nov 22, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Deuce Adams (13) runs with the ball against the SMU Mustangs during the first half at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It all comes down to this. The regular season finale is almost here, and for the Louisville football program, they'll attempt to snap a three-game losing streak by facing in-state arch rival Kentucky in the annual battle for the Governor's Cup.

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

Injury Update

With it being this late in the year, it shouldn't come as a surprise that both Louisville and Kentucky are banged. But while we wont be getting official injury reports for this game, if we did, they would read out like CVS receipts.

Per head coach Jeff Brohm, star wide receiver Chris Bell and standout linebacker Antonio Watts both had to have surgery this week, meaning they will be out vs. UK. Quarterback Miller Moss, as well as running backs Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown, are all viewed as questionable against the Wildcats, per On3's Pete Nakos.

There were a host of other players hurt during the previous game at SMU that we don't have clarity on right now. This includes: running back Duke Watson, wide receiver Caullin Lacy, edge rushers Micah Carter and A.J. Green, plus defensive tackle Jordan Guerad.

On the other sideline, Kentucky is fairly shorthanded as well. In fact, six defensive backs of their had to miss their previous game against Vanderbilt - including starting cornerback Terhyon Nichols. Starting tight end Josh Kattus and rotational edge rusher Kam Olds will be out, and standout linebacker Alex Afari's status is up in the air.

Kentucky Players to Watch: QB Cutter Boley (Offense) and S Ty Bryant (Defense)

Offensively, Kentucky is far from the best team Louisville will have faced all year, as their 359.4 yards and 25.1 points per game rank 87th and 82nd, respectively, in the FBS. But someone who give the Wildcats some potential and long term promise on that side of the ball is quarterback Cutter Boley.

For the season, the redshirt freshman has completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 2,060 yards and 15 touchdowns - albeit with 10 interceptions to boot. But lately, Boley has been playing some of his best football. Over the last five games, he has a 69.7 completion rate, has thrown for 235.0 yards per game, and has 11 touchdowns against six interceptions.

Defensively, the Wildcats are marginally better on that side of the ball, allowing 368.2 yards and 25.1 points per game - which ranks 66th and 72nd in the FBS, respectively. That being said, this is a unit that still has a fair amount of a talent, and one of their best defensive playmakers this season has been Ty Bryant.

The safety has collected 64 tackles, which is the second most on the team, but also leads the SEC in interceptions with four. On Pro Football Focus, his 78.4 defensive grade is the third-highest on the Wildcats, while his 79.8 coverage grade is No. 1 (min. 100 defensive snaps played).

Matchup to Watch: The Hidden Yardage Battle on Special Teams

Both Louisville and Kentucky are extremely banged up, and both sides have dealt with varying degrees of underperformance. It goes without saying that there will likely be times this Saturday where both teams struggle to move the ball or string together long drives. In that case, using special teams to held win the so-called 'hidden yardage' battle will be key.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, even with potentially not having Lacy returning kicks and various struggles punting the ball, their efforts on special teams have still been fantastic this season.

Louisville currently has the No. 4 punt return average in the FBS at 19.68, while Kentucky's punt return defensive average is 120th at 13.60. Flip the script, and the Cardinals' punt return defensive average of 4.11 is 17th, while the Wildcats' punt return average of 4.08 is 122nd.

On kickoffs, while there's some slight variance, it's pretty much the same story. Louisville's 22.69 kickoff return average is 34th, although Kentucky's kickoff return defensive average of 16.25 is 12th. Conversely, UofL's defensive kickoff average of 18.29 is 36th, while UK's kickoff average of 18.75 is 98th.

Louisville Trend to Monitor: A Losing Turnover Battle

As fans know, there are a lot of factors that go into who wins and loses a football games. There are few factors that play a bigger role in determining the final outcome than the turnover battle. Unfortunately, for Louisville, this is a battle they have been losing in recent weeks.

Offensively, it has been a steady stream of turnovers. They have committed at least one turnover in every single game this season, and have turned it over multiple times in three games. Heading into the Kentucky game, Louisville's offense has 16 turnovers - which is 90th in the FBS.

Defensively, the Cardinals had done a good job to counter these turnovers. But lately, they have been hard to come by. They generated 16 turnovers over the first seven games of the season (including multiple in five of them), but have just one forced turnover in the last four games.

From the opener vs. EKU to the matchup vs. Boston College, Louisville had a plus-four turnover margin. Since then, it has been negative-three.

Kentucky Trend to Monitor: A Feast or Famine Rushing Attack

For Kentucky, part of their offensive woes have been because of their ability to run the ball. For the season as a whole, they are averaging 148.2 rushing yards per game, which is 10th in the SEC and 78th in the FBS.

But that doesn't tell the whole story. For the last last two months, Kentucky has had no idea what they would be getting out of their ground game. Since October, it has either flourished or floundered, with very little in between.

In their last seven games, the Wildcats have rushed for less than 100 yards three times. Sure, two of those instances were against Georgia (45) and Vanderbilt (31) this past weekend, but this also happened against Auburn (79) as well.

In those two of the four games where they've ran for more than 100 yards, UK's rushing total has sailed past the 200-yard mark. They ran for 233 yards and three touchdowns against Florida, then 207 yards and five touchdowns against Tennessee Tech.

(Photo of Deuce Adams: Jerome Miron - Imagn Images)

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