Louisville Stumbles Late, Falls to Kentucky for Fifth-Straight Governor's Cup Loss

The Cardinals are on their longest losing streak in the rivalry's modern history.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hosting in-state arch rival Kentucky for the annual regular season-ending Battle for the Governor's Cup, the Louisville football program was unable to buck the recent trend in the series between the two even under a new head coach, getting upset 38-31 Saturday at L&N Stadium. 

The No. 9/10 Cardinals (10-2, 7-1 ACC), led by first year head coach and Louisville native Jeff Brohm and in front of an L&N Stadium-record crowd of 59,224, suffer their fifth consecutive loss to the Wildcats (7-5, 3-5 SEC) to set their longest losing streak in the rivalry since it was renewed in 1994.

Leading by a field goal at halftime after a low-scoring first half and up by ten at two different points in the third quarter, Louisville was out-scored 31-21 in the second half and 17-7 in the fourth quarter.

Despite out-gaining Kentucky 403-289 in terms of total yardage, Louisville was undone by a pair of late fumbles that swung momentum clearly in the opposite direction.

A fumble from Louisville running back Jawhar Jordan late in the third quarter directly resulted in a game-tying 46-yard field goal by Kentucky's Alex Raynor early in the the fourth quarter, then a fumble from quarterback Jack Plummer was turned into a 20-yard go-ahead touchdown reception by Wildcats running back Ray Davis.

Even down a score in the waning moments, Louisville still had a chance. Following an interception from cornerback Jarvis Brownlee, the Cardinals were able to tie the game up with 2:33 left after Plummer found wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce on fourth down for a 21-yard receiving score.

However, Kentucky immediately responded with several big plays, including a 37-yard run from Davis to put the 'Cats up by a touchdown with 1:10 left to go. A Hail Mary attempt by Louisville on the last play/drive then fell into the hands of a Kentucky defender to clinch the game.

Plummer finished the game going 24-for-33 with 242 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Tight end Joey Gatewood - who formerly played at Kentucky - also caught a touchdown, with wide receiver Jamari Thrash leading all pass catchers with six receptions for 60 yards.

Jordan, despite the fumble, still finished with two touchdowns and 67 rushing yards on 17 carries. Louisville, as a whole, ran for 161 yards.

UK quarterback Devin Leary, who has had an up-and-down campaign in his final year at the collegiate level, took advantage of inconsistent coverage from the Cardinals. The NC State transfer wnt 12-of-22 for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Davis finished as both Kentucky's leading rusher and receiver, rushing 14 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, while catching four passes for 51 yards and two scores. Wide receiver Dane Key was the only other offensive Kentucky player to reach the end zone.

Defensively, Louisville was led by a team-high nine tackles from linebacker/safety Benjamin Perry, and sacks from defensive ends Ashton Gillotte and Kam Wilson.

Louisville was the first to strike in the Battle for the Governor's Cup, stringing together a 14-play drive that culminated in a one-yard goal line score from Jordan.

However, for the rest of the first half, the Cardinals had trouble finding a rhythm offensively. They went 70 yards down the field on their first drive, but could only put up 67 yards in their other three drives of the half, only scoring once more courtesy of a 46-yard field goal from Brock Travelstead on their third drive.

Defensively, while Louisville had some lapses in coverage at times and failed to capitalize on a couple interception opportunities, they only allowed Kentucky to score once on the Wildcats' four first half drives and gave up just 97 yards before halftime.

The lone score first half score surrendered by UofL came on UK's third drive of the afternoon and first of the second quarter, with Key hauling in a tough nine-yard touchdown reception from Leary.

After the low-scoring first half, the scoreboard was lit up in the third quarter, with both teams reaching the end zone twice in this period.

Louisville opened up the second half with a methodical 15-play drive that saw Jordan punch it in from one-yard out, but them immediately gave up a 100-yard kickoff return to Kentucky's Barrion Brown. 

The Cardinals took advantage of a good kickoff return from Isaac Guerendo, responding with a five-yard touchdown reception by Gatewood. The Wildcats then scored almost as fast as they did on their kickoff return score, needing only two plays to get back in the end zone courtesy of a 20-yard catch by Davis in the third quarter's final minutes.

Next up, Louisville will head to Charlotte, N.C. to take on Florida State in the ACC Championship Game. Kickoff against the Seminoles from Bank of America is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Jawhar Jordan: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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