UofL Football Recap: Cards Declaw The Kitties To Retain The Governor’s Cup

Pregame Notes:

Good afternoon Card Nation. It’s Senior Day and the annual Battle for The Governor’s Cup. So far, the month of November hasn’t been kind to the Cards, on or off the gridiron. The Cards are coming in 7-4, but are looking to end a 3-game losing streak to end the season. There will be 26 seniors playing their last game in L&N Stadium today. Chris Bell, Caulin Lacy, TJ Quinn, and Jordan Guerad are a few of the main stays that will be participating in the Senior Day festivities. With a win today, Louisville will have won 8 games in a season for the 25th time in school history. Coach Brohm is 1-1 at Louisville vs the wildcats. The last three games have been rough for the Cards, but if they are going to come away with a win today they need to limit the penalties (especially personal fouls and unsportsmanlike), find a way to get Moss into a rhythm, and with their stars at the running back position out, allow the pass to open up the running game. Oh yeah, take care of the ball. Go Cards!!! Beat the cats!!! 

1st Quarter:

Louisville won the coin toss, and like he’s done all year, Coach Brohm deferred until the 2nd half. The Cards defense stood tall and firm their first time on the field, as they allowed one 1st down and then forced a punt. On Louisville’s first possession, Miller Moss connected with Antonio Meeks for 23 yards on the very first play, but the Cards stalled and had to punt the ball back to the blue folks. After a sack on third down by Wesley Bailey, Louisville blocked the ensuing punt and returned it to the 10-yard line. On 4th-&-inches, Moss skied over the pile to give the Cards a 7-0 lead with 4:44 remaining in the quarter. The blue school was forced to punt again, and the Louisville offense continued to move the ball, but a couple mental penalties made it extremely difficult for the Cards to see the end zone. After the first quarter, Louisville led 7-0 heading into the 2nd quarter.  

2nd Quarter:

Cooper Ranvier connected on a 34-yard field goal to extend Louisville’s lead to 10-0 early in the quarter. On Louisville’s next possession, they went on an 8-play and 80-yard drive with the scoring play being a pass from Moss to Stewart to put the Cards up 17-0 with 8:18 remaining in the half. A sack by AJ Green forced yet another punt by the blue team. The Cards squandered another opportunity to put six points on the board, but Ranvier added to the Cards lead before the half with a 24-yard field goal. Clev Lubin got a sack on 3rd down, a sack that looked like an eyelash away from being a safety (not reviewed). Louisville looked to be threatening to put some more points on the board, but Coach Brohm elected not to try a field goal to end the half. The Cards took a 20-0 lead into intermission.

Halftime Stats:

T.O.P:  14:44

Passing Yards: 161 (1 TD)

Rushing Yards: 104 (1 TD)

Sacks: 5

T.Os:  

3rd Quarter: 

Louisville moved the ball really well on the ground coming out of the half. Louisville did have to punt the ball on their first drive. Both teams punted their first 2 possessions of the quarter. On uk’s 3rd possession, they went for it on 4th down and failed, giving the Cards the ball 15 yards away from the end zone. Louisville needed just 2 plays to score on a Shaun Boykins 5-yard touchdown run. In a quarter where Miller Moss attempted two passes, both of which were incomplete, the Cards dominated on the ground. Boykins and Jennings ran all over the uk defense in the quarter. On uk’s final drive of the quarter, they started to have some success, but Holloway intercepted a Boley pass on the 1-yard line. The Cards led 27-0 heading into the final quarter.

4th Quarter:

On a drive that started at their own 1-yard line, the Cards went 99 yards on 17 plays to increase their lead to 34-0. Boley threw his 2nd interception to Holloway on consecutive possessions. As Boley made the tackle on the Louisville sideline, a scrum broke out. Boley and WR Hardley Gilmore IV were both assessed unsportsmanlike penalties and the Cards were moving again. Strong runs by Boykins started the drive, but a Moss to Skinner 4-yard TD connection finished the drive, as Louisville took a 41-0 lead with 5:23 remaining in the game. The Louisville defense continued their stellar play as they pitched a shutout against their in-state rival. The Cards walloped the kitties 41-0. The Governor’s Cup stays in the Ville.

Final Stats:

Passing Yards: 182 (13TD) 

Rushing Yards: 258 (1)

Post Game Notes: 

The Cards improve to 8-4 on the season, and equally as important, keep the Governor’s Cup trophy in the Ville. “They were essentially daring us to run the ball.” And run the ball, Louisville did. The Cards were led on the ground by the freshman running back duo of Braxton Jennings (113 yards) and Shaun Boykins Jr. (101 yards). Miller Moss finished the game with 182 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, and 1 rushing touchdown. The defense was spectacular this game. They forced two interceptions (should’ve been three), but they held uk to 140 total yards for the game. The defense accounted for 6 sacks this game, and countless QB hits and hurries. Cutter Boley looked uncomfortable the entire game. The next step for Louisville is the bowl game.