Cats continue domination of rival Cards with 26-13 win
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis hoisted the Governor's Cup after helping lead the Wildcats to a 26-13 win over the rival Cardinals. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky's roller-coaster of a 2022 regular season ended on a high note Saturday at Kroger Field as the Wildcats dispatched of arch-rival Louisville 26-13 to win the Governor's Cup for the fourth straight time.
Senior running back Chris Rodriguez rushed for 120 yards and the Kentucky defense held the Cardinals to only 309 total yards while forcing three turnovers and sacking the quarterback four times.
Kentucky (7-5, 3-5 SEC) snapped its two-game losing skid and now awaits a bowl invitation for the seventh consecutive year.
"Just really appreciate our football team and their effort and their competitive spirit, competitive nature they've had, you know, these past couple weeks," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "We all know, again, not going back wanting to be a downer, we had some ups and downs, but most people do. Just about everybody in the country with the exception of maybe one or two teams. So, you're going to have some adversity, and our team responded how I believed they would."
The Cats have held the Governor's Cup trophy for five of the last six years. It's quite the turnaround for Stoops, who lost his first three games to the Cards upon taking the UK job in 2013.
"This game is important. I've recognized that from the moment I walked in the door," Stoops said. "... I know it's important to this state, important to or football players and our staff, and I just really appreciate the way they dug in and competed and finished the season."
“It was a great way to have the last home game here," said UK quarterback Will Levis, who threw for 188 yards and a pair of touchdown passes on a turnover-free day for the Cats. "We talked all week about how much this game means to us, to all our fans, the whole state really. Obviously, the season didn’t go how we planned it, but we knew that we’d feel a heck of a lot better about it if we win. We needed it, we got ready for it, and we got it.”
Louisville (7-5, 4-4 ACC) was denied its first eight-win season under head coach Scott Satterfield, but will also be joining the Wildcats in this year's postseason parade despite coming up short in the rivalry game.
"You know the difference in the game," Satterfield said. "I think tonight it was the turnovers. We had three, we did not create any.
"You know, I thought Kentucky did a good job with that creating those turnovers, particularly two of them backed up, you know in their territory and put our defense in a bind."
Louisville entered the matchup No. 4 nationally in turnover margin and with the most forced turnovers (28) among P5 schools.
Kentucky took control of Saturday's game early, getting an 8-yard touchdown pass from Will Levis to Dane Key in the first quarter and a pair of Matt Ruffolo field goals in the second quarter to grab a 13-0 lead.
The Cardinals cut the margin to 13-7 at the half on a 6-yard touchdown run by Malik Cunningham, but UK got another field goal by Ruffolo and a 3-yard TD pass from Levis to Barion Brown to make it 23-7 after three quarters.
Ruffolo, who was named Governor's Cup MVP, booted his fourth field goal of the day in the fourth quarter to make it 26-7.
The Cards got a 27-yard touchdown pass from Brock Domann to Tyler Hudson to make it 26-13 with 7:03 remaining, but the two-point conversion failed and Louisville could get not closer.
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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
Louisville cut a 13-point deficit to six just before halftime and had momentum with the third-quarter kickoff coming its way. But the UK defense forced a three-and-out that included a sack by Deone Walker and Trevin Wallace to force a quick punt. The Cats' offense responded with a drive for a Matt Ruffolo field goal to make it a two-score game once again.
GAME BALL:
Matt Ruffolo, Kentucky - He may have been the most unlikely pregame pick for this honor, but the Cats' senior kicker shook off a season full of frustration with four perfect field goal attempts and two extra points to earn Governor's Cup MVP honors. It's the first time a kicker has ever claimed the Howard Schnellenberger Award.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Time that Kentucky has ended a regular season with a win in five straight years in program history.
5 - Straight Governor's Cup games in which UK has produced a 100-yard rusher. Chris Rodriguez ran for 120 on Saturday.
13+ - Margin of victory for UK in four straight Governor's Cup games, the first time that has happened for either team since the series was renewed in 1994.
19-15 - Kentucky increased its lead in the all-time series with Louisville.
20 - The Cats extended their nation-best win streak in non-conference games.
20th - 100-yard rushing game of Chris Rodriguez's UK career, breaking the school record held by Benny Snell.
24 - Or less points allowed by UK in every home game this season, the first time that has happened since 1987.
2018 - The last year that UK committed a turnover against Louisville.
QUOTABLE:
"I feel like our team emptied the tank once again, and that's all you can ask. Right now they need a little bit time of fill that back up." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops
UP NEXT:
Kentucky awaits its bowl invitation in what has been a crowded, muddy postseason picture for the SEC. The announcement will be made on Sunday, Dec. 4, after the SEC championship game. The Wildcats will be seeking their fifth straight bowl victory.
