LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) —For the last 1,827 days the Kentucky-Louisville football series has not been a rivalry, it’s been a firm, unrelenting lecture.
A harsh dismissal.
Snapshots that Louisville wanted to burn.
You know the numbers. What you didn’t know was whether coach Scott Satterfield and his U of L players had the will and the plan to do anything about it Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field.
The answer: Not yet. The Cards were better but they were hardly good enough.
Kentucky 26, Louisville 13.
"We just didn't have enough firepower on offense," Satterfield said. "In the second half we came out and really didn't get anything going."
The sustained force Louisville showed while winning five of its last six against mostly Atlantic Coast Conference teams while climbing to No. 25 in the college football playoff rankings last Tuesday barely made Kentucky shrug. On a day when the Wildcats were favored by 2 1/2 points, they won by 2 touchdowns.
On cue, Louisville had to endure an endless stream of UK fans saluting them with the Ls down gesture on the stadium video boards. This Louisville team lacked the firepower to overcome making 3 turnovers and not creating any. Not when the Cards passed for only 34 yards in the first half.
Behind 16-7 midway through the third quarter, Louisville watched the game tilt solidly in Kentucky's favor when quarterback Malik Cunningham threw into triple coverage.
Mistake. Super-sized mistake. UK linebacker Trevin Wallace snatched an interception that he advanced 19 yards to the Cards' 16-yard line.
More pain. Cunningham re-injured his bruised right shoulder making the tackle on the play. Three plays later the Wildcats scored a touchdown that put the rivalry out of reach -- again.
"To me the difference in the game was we didn't get much offense throwing the ball," Satterfield said.
Mark it down as four straight Kentucky victories with Satterfield now 0-3 against Mark Stoops and his in-state rival.
Even in a down season where Kentucky had lost five of its last seven, the Wildcats remained bigger, stronger, faster, tougher and more determined to prove their dominance. UK outgained the visitors, 346-309, and never trailed.
Both teams finish the regular season 7-5 as they await their bowl assignments, which will be announced on Dec. 4.
Mark it down as the fourth consecutive Governor’s Cup loss by the Cardinals, all of them by 13 points or more. Kentucky has outscored Louisville 179-57.
The Louisville defense that forced 28 turnovers in the Cardinals first 11 games failed to force any by the Wildcats. It was only the third game this season the Cards failed to force a turnover and just the second game Kentucky failed to make one. Bad time for Louisville to be without its signature skill.
"They really didn't throw the ball (19 times) as much as we expected them to," said Louisville safety Josh Minkins. "When a team is running the ball ... it's kind of hard to get turnovers."
Louisville defensive lineman Yaya Diaby said the Wildcats did an excellent job of disguising their offensive plan by keeping linemen in their run stance more than usual.
The Louisville passing game was barely a whisper. The Cards completed 17 of 27 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Satterfield said that Cunningham did not take any snaps at quarterback for the last two weeks of practice until Friday. After Domann struggled, Cunningham urged Satterfield to put him in the game.
"He wanted to play," Satterfield said. "It's not the complete Malik."
The Louisville running game started strong but the Cards had to move to Plan B after they fell behind by nearly two touchdowns in the second quarter.
Kentucky quarterback Will Leavis celebrates in the first half of Kentucky's 26-13 win over Louisville in Kroger Field.
Louisville slipped behind 13-0 before the Cardinals finally discovered any offensive mojo. Will Levis found Dante Key with a 6-yard touchdown pass on the Wildcats’ second possession. Kentucky followed that with back-to-back field goals by Matt Ruffolo on UK’s next two drives.
At that point the Cardinals had been outscored 166-44 over the last 13 quarters and 20 minutes of the rivalry. For Louisville, it was fight or flight — and we know what happened in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
This year was supposed to be different. It was -- somewhat.
Although Cunningham barely practiced for the last two weeks because of a bruised right shoulder as well as another injury to his left hand, he replaced Brock Domann and led the Cards 64 yards for a touchdown on their final possession of the first half.
Cunningham did what Cunningham does. He covered the final 6 yards of the drive by sliding through the UK defense for the touchdown. But Kentucky scored the next 13 points. Louisville got a touchdown with 7 minutes to go on a 27-yard pass from Domann to Tyler Hudson.
"We stopped them a few times," Minkins said. "We just didn't make enough plays. We played decent for the most part."
"It came down to not making plays on offense and not scoring enough points," Satterfield said.
This Louisville team looked like it was ready to make Kentucky scramble. It wasn't. The Governor’s Cup rivalry is still as one-sided as it’s been since Lamar Jackson left town.
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