LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) — The University of Louisville football team pinned an exclamation point on its 2024 season, the exclamation point the Cardinals have chased since 2017.
They did it by flexing their way to a 20-0 halftime lead and then sending frosty University of Kentucky fans streaming to the Kroger Field parking lots with their Ls down tucked in their pockets after a thunderous 41-14 U of L victory.
"It's huge," U of L coach Jeff Brohm said. "I'm fully aware of this rivalry and what it means to this fan base and to the university ... we talked about finishing as strong as we could."
They did it by intercepting three UK passes, forcing one fumble and returning another fumble for a touchdown, the third time Cards’ defensive end Ramon Puryear scored with a fumble this season.
"This is definitely something I've envisioned since I was a kid so this just feels great," Puryear said. "It feels like a Disney movie. It's been wonderful, just something we prepared for."
They did it by having one freshman running back (Duke Watson) roll to a 104-yard game with two scores and another freshman running back (Isaac Brown) set the program record for most rushing yards (1,074) in a season by a freshman. Brown did that by crackling for 178 yards and two scores.
"I knew what I wanted," Brown said. "I wanted to beat the record and hit 1K."
Brown got that and more. He was voted the Howard Schnellenberger Most Valuable Player, too.
"He's a special player," Brohm said. "Without question, his future has been unbelievably bright."
"The best thing about him is he works. I mean, the guy's never missed a rep of practice. He runs hard. He never complains. There's nothing ever wrong. He just comes to work. For a freshman running back to do that, it's more than impressive."
They did it by improving their record to 8-4 in a season that will be remembered more for ending uncomfortable losing streaks to Clemson and their in-state rival than for the four winnable game the Cards lost by one score or less.
But most of all, Brohm’s team did it by beating the Wildcats so convincingly and so completely that the Cards pinned a string of question marks on the end of Kentucky’s disappointing 4-8 season.
Brohm emptied his bench in the fourth quarter as his team rolled to 486 yards, muscling to a season-high 358 of them by running the football directly through the middle of Kentucky's defense.
The 358 yards were the most the Cards have rushed for since Malik Cunningham led Louisville to a 384-yard night at Duke on Nov. 18, 2021. It was also the most yards UK has allowed on the ground since Georgia rumbled for 381 on Nov. 18, 2017.
"Watching them on video, it's a really good defense," Brohm said. "And for teams that try to throw the ball out there, they're really good. They defend things. They walk out over your slot receivers.
"In my opinion, you're going to have to run the ball to keep them honest. And a lot of teams that haven't done well try to throw it a little bit. And we wanted to establish the run. We've got good runners."
Kentucky has big questions, especially in a season when the Wildcats went 0-5 against Louisville and four Southeastern Conference opponents at home.
Like, why has the Wildcats’ $9 million coach Mark Stoops lost his mojo and will UK fans show the necessary patience for Stoops to get it back?
Like, did freshman Cutter Bolley’s shaky performance (two picks, 6 completions in 15 attempts before he left with an injury) increase the urgency for Stoops to find his 2025 quarterback in the transfer portal ASAP?
"We knew going into this game we were going to have opportunities to create turnovers," Puryear said.
Could the Cards defenders notice they made Bolley uncomfortable, looking for guys coming after him?
"A little bit," said U of L defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte. "Obviously we were getting too close and two of them led to interceptions.
"That's the thing with young quarterbacks. I mean, he's talented. But if you can keep pressure on him, a young guy makes mistakes. I think that's what we did today. I think that's what shows in the scorecard."
It was the kind of uneven performance that makes you wonder if Stoops has to look past the quarterback room and consider another option in the coordinator position for the fifth consecutive season?
There’s more. Lots more. But this day belonged to Brohm and the Cardinals, who ended their 5-game losing streak in this series and brought the Governor’s Cup home for the first time since Lamar Jackson took care of that job in 2017.
The Cards marched 60 yards for a touchdown on their second possession. They added two field goals and another touchdown before halftime.
And Kentucky?
The Wildcats actually had eight possessions in the first half. This is how those possessions ended: Five punts, two interceptions, one fumble, no points.
For Kentucky this will be the Wildcats' first season without a bowl game since 2015. The eight defeats are the most losses the Wildcats have suffered since 2013, Stoops’ first season following Joker Phillips.
For Louisville, the Cardinals will begin an eight-day wait until they learn their bowl destination on Dec. 8.
They saved their best for last, outscoring Pittsburgh and Kentucky 78-23, over the final two weekends. A number of bowl game projections have the Cards in the Gator Bowl, which will be played Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, Fla. It will match a team from the ACC against an SEC opponent.
"We wanted to make sure that when the game was done we could look in the mirror and say that we did everything we could," Brohm said.
Check -- and checkmate.
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