By Annie Dunbar

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The 2014 Governor’s Cup showdown between UK and Louisville will feature a familiar face that will turn knots in the stomachs of Cats fans.

Once ex-Cardinal head coach Bobby Petrino will once again prowl the sidelines sporting the Cardinal black and red. Petrino opted to start a second chapter with Louisville after bolting from the university for the National Football League to coach the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 He then coached at Arkansas from 2008-2011, where the Razorbacks played in the Sugar Bowl in Petrino’s final season. Petrino left Arkansas after he was accused of giving preferrential treatment to a former Arkansas volleyball player who was working in the athletics department.

Most recently, he spent one season at Western Kentucky University where the Hilltoppers finished

with an 8-4 record, including a victory over the Cats. Petrino, who was hired in January at Louisville, previously coached the Cardinals from 2003-2006, a time period Cats fans try to forget.

Petrino turned the Louisville football program into a national powerhouse. In 2004, Petrino led the Cardinals to 11 wins. Two years later, the Cardinals went 12-1, won the Big East Championship and the Orange Bowl. During his four seasons, the Governor’s Cup trophy stayed 80 miles northwest of Lexington. The only time UK has defeated a Petrino-led squad was in 2008 against his Arkansas Razorbacks.

Despite the coined “annual matchup,” aspects of the game will be very different this season, as an improving Cat’s squad will face off against the new-look Cardinals.

Petrino brings a mindset that gears towards offensive aggression. He utilizes power run plays that will be a tough test against a UK defense front with the likes of senior defensive ends Za’Darius Smith and Bud Dupree. Petrino also likes to counter his runs with play action, which will leave UK’s secondary with their hands full come November.

The Cardinals will be rebuilding this season, playing without standout quarterback Teddy Bridgewater who was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round. Redshirt sophomore Will Gardner is the leading candidate for the starting quarterback slot for the Cardinals. Gardner shined in Louisville’s spring game back in April, completing 32 of 37 passes for 542 yards and four touchdowns. On the other side, sophomore Patrick Towles has earned the right to start under center for the Cats. Both squads will start unproven quarterbacks and have defenses that will be chomping at the bit to get at them.

For the 2014 season, the in-state rivalry showdown has been moved to the final game of the season, a turnaround from the usual early season matchup. This not only gives both teams a chance to grow, learn and gain on-field experience, but also allows both teams to play against stiff competition in both the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference before their showdown.

With the schedule change, UK is confident about the battle of the bluegrass.

“I think it’s a great idea,” sophomore defensive end Jason Hatcher, a Louisville native, said about the schedule change. “Both of us will be at our best toward the end of the season. We have a lot of things to work through so it’ll be a more experienced game for us. (It’ll) be a lot more fun, a lot more competitive.”

Freshmen defensive end Lloyd Tubman, also from Louisville, agrees with Hatcher.

“I think it’s really good because we can focus on our season overall instead of just focusing on one game,” Tubman said.

To Hatcher and Tubman, the rivalry means a lot more than winning or losing a game.

“I got a couple of local guys over there so it’ll be a good battle,” Tubman said. “We haven’t been able to pull it off for years so it’ll be a turn around. I strongly think with this class, with this group we have, it’s changing the game and changing everything around.”

The Cats will face a tough test against Petrino’s Cardinals as they look to overcome four consecutive years without bluegrass bragging rights. The rivals are set to kickoff on Nov. 29th in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.