Brohm: Rivalry vs. Kentucky Will Be 'Priority' for Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The rivalry series between the Louisville and Kentucky football programs, as many people know by now, has been extremely one sided as of late. The Cardinals have dropped the last four contests in a row to the Wildcats, with the average margin of defeat being 30.5 points.

Jeff Brohm is not only determined to reverse these fortunes, he is going to be putting the rivalry at a premium under his watch.

Speaking at the Frazier Museum on Wednesday for the "Family Affair at the Frazier: The Brohms" event, the new head coach of the Cardinals was asked about the importance of the rivalry with Kentucky by the moderators. Brohm not only said that it was not just "another game," but that it would be a "priority for us."

"I think we understand that, for sure," he said. "And that's important to understand. You have to understand rivalries if you're going to really put an emphasis on trying to win it. It can't just be another game. There has to be preparation being done now, before the season starts. Kentucky, obviously, has had some success here in the past, and they've done a really good job. So, we're gonna have our work cut out for us.

"Fortunately, we get to play at home. You hope that you have some momentum, and you hope that you have some guys healthy, and we need to go win the football game. Without question, that is a priority for us. We need to make sure we're working hard at it."

It's a far cry from the perceived sentiment by his predecessor, Scott Satterfield, who left Louisville to take the vacant head coaching position at Cincinnati this past December. One of the biggest criticisms of Satterfield by the fanbase was that it seemed like the Boone, N.C. native never truly embraced or understood the magnitude and importance of the rivalry.

That's not an issue in the slightest with Brohm, who has extensive ties to both the city and university. Not only was he born and raised in Louisville, playing his high school ball at Trinity, he both played and previously coached as an assistant for the Cardinals. He played from 1989 to 1993 under Howard Schnellenberger and was their starter for the latter two seasons, and coached in various roles from 2003 to 2008 under both Bobby Petrino and Steve Kragthorpe.

Brohm never faced Kentucky as a player, as the series was finally revived the year after he graduated, but took them on in all six of his years as a UofL assistant. The Cardinals went 4-2 against the Wildcats during Brohm's previous tenure here, going 4-0 while on Petrino's staff and 0-2 on Kragthorpe's.

His first crack at Kentucky as a head coach will come in Louisville's last game of the regular season, with kick off scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 25 at L&N Stadium. The Cardinals will kick off their 2023 season against Georgia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, Sept. 1.

(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Scott Utterback - 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