Stats, highlights, and stars of the 2024 Governor's Cup between Kentucky and Louisville football

The 2023 season for Kentucky football has been a disaster, culminating in an embarrassing performance against Louisville. Fans, already disheartened by a string of poor outings, were given little to cheer for in the final game. Kentucky’s rivals are thriving while the Wildcats seem stuck in reverse, leaving the fanbase frustrated and apathetic. Bush Hamdan and Brock Vandagriff have struggled, Brad White and his defense hasn't been much better. But it is always a good thing to beat Louisville. This year the Cards made the trip to Lexington.

A First Half to Forget

The game opened with promise as Jamarion Wilcox broke a big run—only to have the ball ripped away, symbolizing Kentucky’s hapless day.

The Cats actually held after this forcing a Louisville punt, but after another 3 and out, Louisville capitalized with a 9-play touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead.

Kentucky responded with another three-and-out before Cutter Boley threw the first of two first-half interceptions, gifting Louisville a field goal for a 10-0 advantage.Both teams went 3 and out, then Boley threw his first of two interceptions in the first half leading to a Louisville field goal, 10-0.

The nightmare continued as Louisville shredded Kentucky’s defense with a 58-yard run on a repeated play, exposing the Wildcats’ inability to adjust. Boley led Kentucky to the red zone, but his second interception ended the drive. Louisville’s dominance was cemented as the Cats went into halftime down 17-0, their offense lifeless and defense overmatched.

Second Half, Same Story

The third quarter began no better. A quick three-and-out set up Louisville for another field goal, extending the lead to 20-0. Then, a targeting penalty sidelined Boley, forcing Gavin Wimsatt into action. While Wimsatt connected with Ja'Mori Maclin for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 20-7, the momentum was short lived.

But with Wimsatt in the game, the passing offense is extremely limited and already down, the defense had to hold. They could not as Louisville once again scored a touchdown to put the lead back to 20. Another fumble by Wilcox led to a scoop and score for Louisville, heading to the fourth the Cats were down 34-7.

In another example of Kentucky football, on 4th and 10 Wimsatt broke out of the pocket to run but instead of fighting to stay in bounds he simply steps out to avoid a hit leading to a turn over on downs.

Lousiville was forced to punt and Kentucky immediately responded with another bomb to Maclin:

But the cards quickly answered again on a 2 play 75 yard drive, both on the ground with Brown scoring to make it 41-14.

Another turnover, the fifth of the game for the Cats let the Cards put in the backups, something you never want to see in Kroger Field but has happened all too often this year. Louisville rotated 4 QBs in the game, a nice little tip of the cap to Stoops from Brohm.

The stats were as ugly as the Cats play this season:

Team Statistics
First Downs: Louisville 21, Kentucky 13
Third-Down Efficiency: Louisville 5/13, Kentucky 0/9
Fourth-Down Efficiency: Louisville 0/1, Kentucky 0/1
Total Yards: Louisville 486, Kentucky 328
Passing Yards: Louisville 128, Kentucky 173
Rushing Yards: Louisville 358, Kentucky 155
Yards Per Play: Louisville 7.0, Kentucky 4.9
Turnovers: Louisville 1, Kentucky 5
Fumbles Lost: Louisville 1, Kentucky 2
Interceptions Thrown: Louisville 0, Kentucky 3
Penalties: Louisville 3-20 yards, Kentucky 4-50 yards
Time of Possession: Louisville 35:03, Kentucky 23:49


Quarterback Comparison
Louisville (Tyler Shough): 9/18, 128 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Kentucky :
Gavin Wimsatt: 4/9, 125 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Cutter Boley: 6/15, 48 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT

Rushing Leaders
Louisville:
Isaac Brown: 26 carries, 178 yards, 2 TD, 67-yard long
Duke Watson: 6 carries, 104 yards, 2 TD, 58-yard long
Kentucky:
Jamarion Wilcox: 12 carries, 66 yards, 0 TD, 15-yard long
Demie Sumo-Karngbaye: 11 carries, 51 yards, 0 TD, 14-yard long
Receiving Leaders
Louisville:
Chris Bell: 3 receptions, 84 yards, 0 TD, 51-yard long
Kentucky:
Ja’Mori Maclin: 3 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TD, 83-yard long

Star of the game

I didn't even want to put a a star section here, but Maclin was just too good to not give praise on an otherwise horrible night.

1. Ja'mori Maclin

Completely under used this season, Maclin once again shows elite ball skills as he scored both touchdowns on the day. Maclin finishes with 3 catches for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. Why Hamdan didn't feature him all season is the kind of question that causes fans to stay up at time.

Where does Kentucky go from here? No bowl game, a 4-8 year and a loss to the Cards.