Louisville RBs Shaun Boykins Jr., Braxton Jennings Run All Over Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When it comes to rivalry games, a common expression is "throw out the record books," meaning that one needs to be prepared to expect the unexpected. Well, for the Louisville football program, their final outcome against Kentucky certainly falls into that category - albeit in a good way.

Despite entering the Governor's Cup on a three-game losing streak and dealing with a myriad of impactful injuries, that didn't hold the Cardinals back one bit. They unleashed their full might on the Wildcats, beating down their in-state arch rival and securing a 41-0 victory in the process. It not only marked their first home win against UK since 2014, it was their largest margin of victory in the all-time series.

It goes without saying that Louisville needed a host of standout performances to throttle Kentucky like they did. But their top individual performances came from a very unlikely source.

With running backs Isaac Brown, Keyjuan Brown and Duke Watson all having to miss the game against Kentucky due to injury, Louisville was forced to give meaningful snaps to Shaun Boykins Jr. and Braxton Jennings at the position. The two young in-state backs took their opportunity and ran with it (pun intended).

Boykins earned the start against the Wildcats, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. However, it was Jennings who was named the MVP of the Governor's Cup, coming after rushing for 113 yards on 20 carries.

By the end of the game, a running back duo who started the season 4th and 5th on depth chart finished with a combined 214 rushing yards. Head coach Jeff Brohm called the efforts by Boykins and Jennings a "tremendous performance."

"They were behind a lot of guys, and they just kept inching up the depth chart. It's a great story of people that love football, that want to be a part of it, and all of a sudden their time comes and they step into a game like this and deliver. Just a great performance by both of them."

These performances came seemingly out of nowhere, considering that both players ran for more yards than they had even amassed through 11 games up to that point. Boykins entered the game with just 89 rushing yards on the season, while Jennings had only 87 - but did have a touchdown.

Hearing that the 4th and 5th string running backs combined for over 200 yards is one thing. But to truly appreciate how special and incredible it was, some context is needed.

With Jennings, not only is he a true freshman, he's not even on scholarship. He received just three offers coming out of high school, with just two of them coming from FBS teams. Instead of taking advantage of those, he opted to walk-on at Louisville.

"I knew it was going to be a task coming in as a walk-on, and nobody really knowing me like that besides my coach," Jennings said after the game vs. Kentucky. "I knew I had to put in work, and I feel like I proved it in fall camp. I had to just wait my opportunity. All the long nights, staying up thinking 'when am I going to get my opportunity?' It came today, so it's a blessing."

With Boykins, not only is he a redshirt freshman, running back isn't even his natural position. He had a handful of offers to chose from before picking Louisville, but he played wide receiver in high school. He began to cross-train at running back earlier this year in fall camp, and eventually made the permanent switch to running back.

"Shaun was a unique guy that we brought in here as a receiver," Brohm said. "It just wasn't happening as fast as we would like, but he had a unique skill set. So let's try him as a running back, and to his credit, he's unselfish. He moved, and he's worked hard."

What also makes the outings from Jennings and Boykins special is that both are in-state products. Jennings played at Ashland (Ky.) Blazer, while Boykins suited up for Radcliff (Ky.) North Hardin. There was plenty of motivation from both player to show out against the state school.

"Being in-state and this being an in-state matchup, then a lot of the guys I grew up with, they played on the other side," Boykins said. "I was talking to them throughout the week, just playing around and stuff. But yeah, it was a big win. It feels good, especially that I was able to contribute to the team's win."

Louisville concludes the regular season at 8-4 overall, and now wait for their bowl draw. The Cardinals will learn their postseason assignment on Sunday, Dec. following the end of conference championship weekend.

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