Pregame Prep: Things You Should Know Before the Game
- Kickoff: Noon ET
- TV / Radio: ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville
- Weather: Temperatures hovering around the 30s-40s; moderate chance for snow and rain
- Uniforms: Louisville (all red uniforms w/Heisman bird helmet); Kentucky (chrome helmet / white jersey and pants)
Author’s Note: Maybe one day, we will get the all red v. all blue Louisville / UK jersey game we have all dreamed of…
Last Time (Louisville v. Kentucky): 2024
Louisville snapped their five-game losing streak against Kentucky in emphatic fashion, dominating from bell to bell in a 41-14 win in Lexington. The Cardinals defense forced five turnovers, as Isaac Brown and Duke Watson spearheaded an offense that rushed for 358 yards and averaged seven yards per carry (including 178 yards from Brown and 104 from Watson, with two touchdowns apiece).
Notable Numbers:
- Kentucky leads the all-time series 20-16. UK has won five out of nine games since Louisville moved to the ACC in 2014, with head coach Mark Stoops holding a 4-1 record all-time in L&N Stadium.
- Since 2014, the winning team in the rivalry has scored 38 or more points in all but one contest.
First Down: Meet the 2025 Kentucky Wildcats
Currently the SEC’s longest tenured head coach, Mark Stoops enters his 13th season at a crossroads with the fan base in Lexington. After a 4-8 finish last season and missing a bowl game for the first time since 2015, the Wildcats started the season 2-5, with a four-game losing streak after losing 56-34 to rival Tennessee.
Kentucky has since rebounded, winning three of its last four games heading into the regular season finale. The Wildcats enter this week with a 5-6 record, needing to beat their rival to secure bowl eligibility.
Second Down: Kentucky Offense Breakdown
Kentucky surprisingly kept Bush Hamdan as their offensive coordinator after a disastrous 2024 season that saw (A) their offensive line struggle massively, and (B) their transfer quarterback, Brock Vandagriff, retire from football after a really disappointing season.
They brought in another transfer quarterback for 2025, recruiting Zach Calzada from FCS Incarnate Word to bring competition to the quarterback room. A former Texas A&M and Auburn quarterback, Calzada won the job to start the season, but after two poor performances against Toledo and Ole Miss, Stoops brought Cutter Boley back into the starting lineup.
Boley was a top recruit in the state of Kentucky and chose to stay home to play for his hometown team and favorite team as a kid, so fair to say he will have more motivation to beat Louisville than most on the roster. He has your prototypical quarterback build (6’5, 220 lbs.), and he can hit deep throws with really solid touch. But he has struggled with turnovers (ten interceptions this season) and has taken some massive hits over the course of his collegiate career.
True to Kentucky teams under Mark Stoops, they once again have two bruisers at running back with Seth McGowan and Dante Dowdell leading the team in rushing. Both can run inside the tackles and get to the second level with a surprising amount of explosiveness, and they can be threats in the red zone; McGowan has a team-high 12 rushing touchdowns this season, while Dowdell had 12 TDs last season with Nebraska.
Kentucky hasn’t gotten much production from their receiving group, but that can be attributed to Boley taking a lot of big sacks and throwing turnovers. Kendrick Law has been a reliable target for them this season, nearly doubling the next leading UK receiver in both receptions and yards. They also utilize tight end Willie Rodriguez (22 rec., 295 yards, TD), with Rodriguez showing an ability to make tough catches in traffic. Senior Ja’Cori Maclin (13 rec., 189 yards) is another big play threat and had a long receiving touchdown last year against the Cardinals, look for him or Hardley Gilmore IV (27 rec., 287 yards, TD) to be the #2 option at wide receiver.
Key Players:
- RB Seth McGowan (163 carries, 720 yards, 12 TDs)
- RB Dante Dowdell (106 carries, 533 yards, three TDs)
- WR Kendrick Law (50 receptions, 524 yards, three TDs)
Third Down: Kentucky Defense Breakdown
Brad White enters his seventh season as Kentucky’s defensive coordinator, where he and Mark Stoops have basically served as the backbone of the program. While White’s defense were generally among the best in the SEC in his first four seasons (ranking fourth in each of his first three seasons with UK, and second in 2022), they’ve been on the backslide in the last two. UK finished tenth in the conference in total defense last season, and entering this week, they’re 12th in that category (368.2 YPG allowed) with 5.57 yards per play (13th). It is worth noting, however, they’re coming off a loss at Vanderbilt where they gave up 604 total yards (including 539 passing).
Kentucky continues to run a 3-4 with big defensive linemen that can eat up space and allow their linebackers to run free and make plays, it’s no different this year. Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace (27 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks) is coming off a solid performance last week and could be an impact player with disrupting Louisville’s run game.
The big storyline for UK will be if linebacker Alex Afari, Jr. will return to the lineup after missing last week’s game due to injury. Afari is their top playmaker in the group and he can run downhill and make plays against the run as well. If he can’t go, expect Daveren Rayner (66 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, two INTs) to lead the team.
Kentucky’s secondary is somewhat similar to SMU’s; they’ve given up a ton of yardage and explosive plays, but they can get takeaways if teams aren’t careful. They’ve suffered a ton of injuries in their secondary, including Jordan Lovett. Safety Ty Bryant and cornerback JQ Hardaway still give Kentucky an experienced, talented duo that can make plays on the ball. UK has 12 interceptions as a team this season, which is tied for second in the SEC behind LSU’s 14.
Key Players:
- LB Alex Afari, Jr. (50 tackles, six TFLs, 2.5 sacks in nine games)
- S Ty Bryant (64 tackles, four INTs)
- CB JQ Hardaway (53 tackles, four PBUs, INT)
Fourth Down: Keys to the Game
When Louisville has the ball…
If we are to call it an “injury bug,” then Louisville is perhaps proverbially a victim of something akin to a wasp sting or a bad spider bite. Quarterback Miller Moss is questionable for the game, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Louisville will also be without star receiver Chris Bell (and possibly Caullin Lacy), and their top four running backs (Isaac Brown, Duke Watson, Keyjuan Brown, and Jamarice Wilder) all may not play as well. It’s entirely possible in a doomsday scenario that Louisville’s backfield will consist of redshirt freshman Deuce Adams, and a running back rotation of Braxton Jennings and Shaun Boykins, Jr.
But, if nothing else, I’m here to try and provide solutions. For what it’s worth, Deuce Adams had some encouraging signs last week versus SMU. Louisville wasn’t able to push the ball downfield, but he was efficient and made some good reads. Utilizing him as a runner is also something they should do, as the offense could use options with Boykins to make defenses think.
As for the passing game, Louisville just needs a receiver, any receiver, to step up and be a go-to option. Without Bell or Lacy, Louisville will be missing over half of its production from their passing game. Tight ends Jaleel Skinner and Nate Kurisky may have to see increased roles to be safe options for Adams and build confidence for him as a passer. As far as wide receiver, Louisville will need Treyshun Hurry (nine receptions, 61 yards) or Dacari Collins (11 receptions, 179 yards) to step up outside and pose some kind of threat to Kentucky’s secondary. I would not be surprised if the staff also tries to utilize Boykins as a receiver out of the backfield, given he converted from wide receiver to running back in the offseason.
When Kentucky has the ball…
If nothing else, Bush Hamdan definitely looks to get his studs the ball when he can. I’d expect a healthy diet of McGowan / Dowdell carries, as well as Kendrick Law getting passes on screen routes and slants to get easy completions.
For Louisville to win this game, they’re going to have to do two things; get to Cutter Boley and make him throw into traffic. Louisville will have to break out of its slump with forcing turnovers (just one in the last four games) and, if possible, give its offense a short field to try and get easy points.
