Kentucky drubs Louisville in battle for bluegrass state football superiority

For many years, these traditional basketball powerhouses viewed football as an afterthought.  Louisville began to enjoy gridiron success a number of years ago, though Kentucky continued to struggle in the brutal SEC.  That’s started to change recently, and Kentucky made an emphatic statement that they’ve reached parity with Louisville on the football field Sunday as they won the Governor’s Cup rivalry game by a 27-2 score.

Wildcat coach Rich Brooks has been vocal about the fact that the team’s offense is in rebuilding mode, but they should have a margin for error based on the play of their ball hawking defense.  The Kentucky defense forced 5 Louisville turnovers, three of which were cashed in for Kentucky TD’s.  Kentucky held Louisville’s offense scoreless and to a meager 176 yards of total offense—their lowest total since 2002.  The two points scored represented Louisville’s lowest scoring output since a 2000 shutout to Florida State.

Kentucky QB Mike Hartline, who essentially backed into the starting job after Curtis Pulley was kicked off the team in early August, did a good job of “playing within himself”.  He was solidly efficient and allowed the team to take advantage of the defensive unit’s work, finishing with 147 yards and no INTs.  Louisville’s Hunter Cantwell, meanwhile, looked frustrated and erratic against the Wildcat offense and finished with 3 interceptions.

Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe could be in for a tough year.  He took over a talented team led by senior QB Brian Bohm after former coach Bobby Petrino “took the money and ran” first to the Atlanta Falcons and later the University of Arkansas.  With much of the same personnel that produced a 12-1 mark in 2006, he could do no better than 6-6 due primarily to a porous defense.  He could quickly find himself on the hot seat this season, as he’s no longer got a “pass” due to Petrino bailing on the team and will now be forced to produce results with a less talented team.

Kentucky’s Rich Brooks, meanwhile, is doing a solid job at bringing the overall program up to SEC standards.  Winning “rivalry games” like this one will keep the Wildcat supporters happy while the offense matures and learns to play together.