Kentucky football (5-6, 2-6 SEC) will close out the 2025 regular season against Louisville (7-4, 4-4 ACC) in the next edition of the “Battle of the Bluegrass.”
What to watch-
Rivalry weekend has arrived and the biggest foes will square off all across the sport with Kentucky and Louisville being some of the bitterest of rivals.
A game that already means a ton has even bigger implications this year, especially for Kentucky.
If the Wildcats win, they go bowling in 2025, but if they don’t, their season is over.
Kentucky started the season on a low note before catching a spark with a three-game winning streak that ended in week 13 in a 45-17 loss to No. 14 Vanderbilt.
During those tougher times of the season, lots of questions began to arise about the status of head coach Mark Stoops and whether or not his time in Kentucky should come to close.
It’s hard to believe those discussions would not fire right back up across Big Blue Nation and nationwide if the Cats fall to the Cardinals.
Louisville comes into the game sputtering as it got off to a 7-1 start, but has dropped its last three games.
The home Cardinals currently hold the Governor’s cup after a 41-14 beatdown in Lexington last season.
Injuries-
What may turn out to be the difference in this matchup is simply who has more healthy personnel on the field as injuries have ripped through both teams towards the end of the season.
Kentucky is battered on the defensive side of the ball to put it lightly and is especially thin in the secondary.
While some of the injuries are season-ending for the likes of Jordan Lovett and Sam Greene, the trio of Alex Afari Jr., Kahlil Saunders and Terhyon Nichols were all listed as questionable and could be back this week.
While typically the status of these guys would be known before kickoff, there is no injury report required for non-conference games, so there is a solid chance we will have to wait until pregame at the earliest to know.
The Wildcats may be battered on defense, but Louisville is decimated offensively as it will be without its 917-yard receiver Chris Bell.
However, it could get worse starting quarterback Miller Moss and the team-leading running back duo of Issac Brown and Keyjaun Brown all missed last week with injuries and their statuses are unknown heading into this matchup.
Offense-
Cutter Boley made his first career start last season against the Cardinals in the blowout loss, but with more experience, this is a vastly different player than a year ago.
The redshirt freshman took over as the start and has not looked back, throwing for 2,060 yards along with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Seth McGowan will lead the rushing attack on the road with his 720 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Paired with McGowan will be Dante Dowdell, who has rushed for 533 yards and three scores.
Kendrick Law is the premier pass-catcher for the Wildcats as he leads the team with 524 yards and three touchdowns.
Moss’ status will be huge for the Cardinals as he has thrown for 2,344 yards and 11 touchdowns on the year along with seven interceptions.
If Moss cannot suit up Deuce Adams or Brady Allen could get the reins as both of them saw action in the Cardinals’ loss to SMU.
In that game, Adams threw for 94 yards along with rushing for 14 yards on seven carries. Allen threw for just six yards on his three pass attempts in the game along with four rushing yards on one attempt.
Like with Moss, the running game is fueled by Issac and Keyjaun as they have rushed for 782 and 592 yards respectively.
With both of them missing in week 13, the duo of Shaun Boykins Jr. and Duke Watson to get the touches in the run game if one or both men are out once again this week.
After Bell, Caullin Lacy is the next leading receiver as he’s accumulated 547 yards this season and found the end zone twice.
While the Wildcats are at basically full strength offensively, Louisville’s offensive status remains in flux coming into the “Battle of the Bluegrass” with so many key players seemingly being game-time decisions.
Last time in Louisville-
The last time these two teams squared off in Louisville was back in 2023 when the Wildcats stunned the No. 15 Cardinals on a 37-yard Ray Davis touchdown.
However, that game is largely remembered for what followed as later that day news broke that Stoops was heading to Texas A&M to be the next head coach of the Aggies before the deal fell though and he returned to Lexington.
Not only did he return, but he signed a contact extension that is the reason why his buyout sits at nearly $40 million dollars if Kentucky wanted to make a change after this season.
Wether it’s a good or bad result for the Wildcats, there will certainly be no shortage of things to talk and speculate about after this matchup just like there was no shortage for storylines following the 2023 upset.
What do the odds say?
Switching gears back to this edition of the Wildcats and Cardinals, according to ESPNBET, Louisville is favored to get the win by 2.5 points and its matchup predictor also favors the Cardinals, giving them a 53.2% chance to win at home.
When it comes to the all-time series on the gridiron, Kentucky holds a 19-16 advantage over the Cardinals.
However, one thing the odds can never account for is that rivalry games are just different and sometimes the biggest motivation for a team can be simply beating its biggest rivals.
Kentucky will look to bring the Governor’s Cup back to Lexington, while Louisville will be trying to defend it and end Kentucky’s season as the next installment of the rivalry will take place on Saturday, Nov. 29, with kickoff set for noon ET. The game will air live on ACC Network and is available to watch on the ESPN app.
