A year ago this game got a coach fired. Now Kentucky brings a brand-new staff and quarterback to L&N Stadium hoping to avoid a repeat of the beatdown that changed everything.
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LOUUK
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Best BetLouisville
Louisville brings the far more stable program into this one — a returning top-25 outfit with continuity at running back and a proven system, against a Kentucky team installing a brand-new staff and quarterback in year one. Back the Cardinals to win outright; Kentucky's ceiling this season is competitive, not favored, especially in a rivalry game they've lost by a combined blowout margin the last two years.
Louisville
+9-4 last season, preseason Top 25 team
+Isaac Brown returns as proven backfield centerpiece
+Top-5 transfer portal class nationally
−Fourth different starting QB in four straight seasons
−Allowed 25 sacks last year, up from 15
Kentucky
+Kentucky native Will Stein has track record with Nix, Gabriel, Moore
+Aggressive portal additions on both lines
+Minchey brings Power Four, dual-threat pedigree
−Missed a bowl in back-to-back seasons (5-7, 4-8)
−Brand-new staff and scheme installing in year one
−Lost this exact rivalry game 41-0 last season
Louisville comes into Friday, November 27 with the look of a program that's found stability. The Cardinals went 9-4 a year ago, enter the season ranked in the preseason Top 25, and are running it back with Isaac Brown anchoring the backfield behind a new quarterback again — Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz taking the reins for Jeff Brohm's offense.
Kentucky's rebuild starts from a very different place. Mark Stoops was fired days after last year's 41-0 shutout loss to Louisville ended a 5-7 season and a second straight missed bowl. The Wildcats went out and hired Kentucky native Will Stein off Oregon's staff, where he coordinated offenses for Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey is the guy tasked with running it, and if Stein's track record holds, this offense should look nothing like the one that got shut out here last year.
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Both staffs went heavy into the portal to fix the trenches. Louisville brought in edge rusher Tyler Thompson and receiver Tre Richardson as part of a Top-5 portal class nationally, while Stein attacked both lines of scrimmage to give Minchey a chance to operate. The gap in continuity is still stark — Brohm's in year four with a roster that knows his system, Stein's installing his from scratch — but Kentucky isn't walking in overmatched on paper the way it did a season ago.
Louisville Cardinals
Nov 20?vs Pittsburgh—
Nov 13?@ North Carolina—
Nov 6?@ Georgia Tech—
Oct 30?vs Stanford—
Oct 16?@ Syracuse—
Oct 9?vs Florida State—
Oct 2?@ NC State—
Sep 25?vs Wake Forest—
Sep 19?vs SMU—
Sep 11?vs Villanova—
Sep 6?@ Ole Miss—
Kentucky Wildcats
Nov 20?@ Missouri—
Nov 13?vs Florida—
Nov 6?@ Tennessee—
Oct 16?@ Oklahoma—
Oct 9?vs LSU—
Oct 2?@ South Carolina—
Sep 26?vs South Alabama—
Sep 19?@ Texas A&M—
Sep 12?vs Alabama—
Sep 5?vs Youngstown State—
Recent form.
The recent history here is lopsided. Louisville has won the Governor's Cup two straight years, and last year's 41-0 result was the largest margin in series history and just the second shutout ever in the rivalry. Kentucky still leads the all-time series 19-17, but the trophy has gone the Cardinals' way in 17 of 30 meetings, and Louisville's current streak is the story going into this one.
Louisville Cardinals
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Kentucky Wildcats
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Louisville does have a real question mark up front — the Cardinals allowed 25 sacks last season, up from 15 the year before, and that's a problem against a Kentucky defense that Stein's staff spent the offseason retooling. If Minchey gets time, this could be a lot closer than the last two Governor's Cups. If he doesn't, the trend line stays the same.
