Louisville Sputters at Kentucky for Fourth-Straight Governor's Cup Loss
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Taking on in-state rival Kentucky for the annual season-ending Governor's Cup showdown, the Louisville football program was unable to buck the recent trend in the series between the two, falling 26-13 Saturday at Kroger Field.
The No. 25 Cardinals (7-5, 4-4 ACC) suffer their fourth consecutive loss to the Wildcats (7-5, 3-5 SEC), matching their longest losing streak in the rivalry's modern era since dropping each of the matchups from 2007 to 2010.
Going with backup quarterback Brock Domann before having to revert back to regular starter Malik Cunningham, Louisville struggling to get anything going through the air, with the two combining to throw just 17-of-27 for 145 yards, a touchdown and two interception.
Offensively, Louisville turned the ball over three times on the afternoon, with the first two giving Kentucky premium field position and resulting in 10 points off turnovers. Despite tallying 164 rushing yard, including a 145-yard effort from Jawhar Jordan and a six-yard rushing score from Cunningham, the Cardinals amassed only 309 yards of offense.
Defensively, Louisville was not nearly as disruptive as they had been all season up to that point, allowing Kentucky to rush for 158 yards, including 120 from Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez. Quarterback Will Levis went 11-of-19 for 188 yards and two touchdowns, en route to UK putting up 346 total yards of offense.
Kentucky placekicker Matt Ruffalo went a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals for the game, setting a new personal high. Ruffalo was just 12-of-20 on the season entering the matchup.
Through the first quarter and a half, it was Kentucky that had all the momentum. Offensively, Louisville got very little done with Domann in at quarterback. Cardinals punted on their first drive, then produced a turnover on downs and fumble inside Kentucky's red zone on their next two drives with him under center.
While Louisville's defense did a solid job of containing Levis, Rodriguez and Co. during the first half, the Wildcats still scored on three of their first four drives. Ruffalo drilled 29- and 43-yard field goals, while Key added an eight-yard touchdown reception to take an early 13-0 lead.
Satterfield chose to insert Cunningham after the listless offense start, and it gave Louisville the spark they needed. While the Cardinals did go three-and-out on his first drive back, they followed that up with a methodical drive that was capped off by a six-yard touchdown run by Cunningham. Despite Kentucky having clear early momentum, the Cardinals were able keep it just a 13-7 game at halftime.
But once the second half started, Kentucky seized that momentum right back. The Wildcats forced a Louisville three-and-out on the opening drive of the half, then added a 35-yard field goal on their first drive after halftime.
Cunningham then immediately threw an interception on the Cardinals' next drive out, setting up an easy three-yard touchdown reception to Barrion Brown that gave Kentucky a 23-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Louisville would also have to go back to Domann for the remainder of the game after Cunningham aggravated his throwing shoulder on the play where he threw an interception.
The Wildcats tacked on another field goal early in the fourth quarter, this time from 40 yards out, to push their advantage to 19 points and essentially ice the game. Louisville was able to string together some offense midway through the period, resulting in an impressive 27-yard touchdown to Tyler Hudson, but that was all they could muster down the stretch.
Already bowl eligible, Louisville now awaits their postseason draw. The complete bowl schedule will be released on Sunday, Dec. 4, following the conclusion of conference championship weekend.
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Matt Stone - Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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