Louisville Opens as Road Favorite vs. Kentucky

The Cardinals end the regular season with their annual rivalry matchup with the Wildcats.

Nov 25, 2023; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals tight end Nate Kurisky (85) runs the ball against Kentucky Wildcats defensive back Maxwell Hairston (31) during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Kentucky defeated Louisville 38-31. / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football got back in the win column with authority this past weekend, and oddsmakers are liking them to carry that momentum into their annual season-ending Battle for the Governor's Cup rivalry matchup vs. Kentucky.

According to DraftKings, the Cardinals have opened up as a 2.5-point favorite over the home Wildcats. The over/under has not yet been set.

Fresh off of their embarrassing loss at Stanford, Louisville (7-4, 5-3 ACC) absolutely steamrolled Pitt in their last time out. They out-gained the Panthers 505 yards to 265, and scoring the first 34 points of the game en route to a 37-9 beat down.

As for Kentucky (4-7, 1-7 SEC), they have not had the season they expected. The Wildcats' lone win against a power conference team came all the way back in September at Ole Miss, and they have lost five straight against such competition ever since. Even in their last win, a 48-6 win over Murray State on Nov. 16, Kentucky looked like far from a polished product.

Louisville is 5-6 against-the-spread so far this season, whereas Kentucky is 7-4. The Cardinals are 1-4 on the road ATS despite being 3-2 straight up, while the Wildcats are 4-3 at home ATS despite being 3-4 straight up.

Louisville was able to cover vs. Austin Peay (-38.5), vs. Jax State (-27.5) vs. Georgia Tech (-8.5), at Clemson (+11.5) and vs. Pitt (-7.5); but not at Notre Dame (+6.5), vs. SMU (-6.5), at Virginia (-7.5), vs. Miami (+4.5), at Boston College (-7.5) and at Stanford (-20.5).

Kentucky covered vs. Southern Miss (-25.5), vs. Georgia (+22.0), vs. Ohio (-21.0), at Ole Miss (+15.5), at Tennessee (+17.5), vs. Murray State (-41.5) and at Texas (+20.0); but were unable to do so vs. South Carolina (-9.5), vs. Vanderbilt (-12.5), at Florida (-2.5) and vs. Auburn (-2.0).

Kickoff vs. Kentucky is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 30 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

(Photo of Nate Kurisky: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X