Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals Football Series Highlights

Regardless of the sport, the match up of UK vs. U of L always insights banter across the Commonwealth. Fans on both sides circle this meeting as the “can’t lose” game on every schedule. There is even a power struggle brought on by the names of the schools alone. Louisville represents the largest city, while UK’s name represents the entire Bluegrass State.

The Governor’s Cup was started in 1994 as an annual head to head battle of the Cats and Filthy Cards. Since the modern series began, Louisville has the record advantage of 9-8, but with Kentucky’s recent winning streak of four in a row, they can tie it up today.

Let’s take a look back at some of the more exciting moments of the recent series:

2007: Former UK wideout Stevie Johnson became a household name in the US in 2010 after his breakout season for the Buffalo Bills. But, he has been no secret to the Big Blue Nation and in large part for one catch. After four straight years of torture and missed opportunities, UK finally took the Cup home again with the last minute heroics of Andre Woodson and Stevie Johnson. Three words translate into millions for the fans that had waited four years to taste sweet victory over Louisville once again: Stevie. Got. Loose.

2008: The second of four straight wins (still active) had plenty of early season sloppiness for both teams, but seemed uncompetitive from the opening kick. Louisville only scored two points, a safety on Mike Hartline as he illegally grounded the ball in the end zone. There were still some exciting moments including one play where Defensive Tackle Myron Pryor stormed 72 yards on a fumble recovery touchdown. Another important result of this game didn’t even occur until the next day. Ridge Wilson, one of the top recruits in the state and a Louisville native, commited to Kentucky after spending game day on a visit with UofL.

2002: Louisville was ranked as high as #17 nationally as they hosted the Cats for the season opener. UK took an early lead and kept the Cardinals at a distance. UK’s defense limited Louisville to only 248 total yards and applied pressure all game to QB Dave Ragone. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the game was a post game quote from Ragone where he told reporters, “I tried to tell myself it was a nightmare after the game.”

2009: Kentucky struck first with a Lones Seiber field goal. But was trailing later in the opening quarter following a Louisville rushing touchdown. Derrick Locke took the following kickoff 100 yards to reclaim the lead for UK. It went back and forth all game until Mr. Versatility Randall Cobb caught the eventual game winning touchdown with under five minutes to play.

1998: Still the biggest shellacking of the entire series. Neither school had scored 68 points in a single game prior to this match up or has since. Led by QB Tim Couch, UK went into Louisville and double up on the Cardinals 68-34.

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