Ailing Louisville opens as favorite over Kentucky for Governors Cup
Ailing and derailed, Jeff Brohm’s Louisville Cardinals still enter the Governors Cup against Kentucky as three and a half point favorites.
Louisville has lost three consecutive games, most recently coming off a 38-6 loss to SMU, the worst defeat under Brohm. The Cards have key injuries at key positions, with starting quarterback Miller Moss, running backs Keyjuan and Isaac Brown, and receiver Caullin Lacy among those injured. There are also several starting defensive players with injuries, including LB/S Antonio Watts. Player status ahead of this Saturday is currently unknown.
Against SMU, the Cardinals gave redshirt freshman Deuce Adams his first career start. Adams was playing just two and a half hours from his home in Austin, Texas (Vandegrift). He finished throwing for 94 yards on 12 completions he also ran it seven times for 14 yards. As expected, we saw two different quarterbacks. Redshirt junior Brady Allen also took snaps, getting a drive in the first half and late in the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t a perfect performance in Adams’ first start, but the 6-foot-2, 190-pound quarterback may have done enough to earn another start, depending on Moss’ status. Moss did dress and was on the sideline in Dallas, but walked with a noticeable limp and seemed a ways away from being effective if on the field.
Kentucky also hasn’t had much of a dream season. But the Wildcats had been playing better in recent weeks, before a 45-17 thumping at the hands of No. 14 Vanderbilt. With a 5-6 record, a bowl game, as well as a rivalry win on the line, the Cats still have a lot to play for.
6-foot-5 freshman Cutter Boley has taken over as the starting quarterback and led UK to three consecutive wins before the loss at Vandy. He’s shown promise, including a five-touchdown performance in a home loss to No. 17 Tennessee; however, the Hodgenville, Kentucky, product exited Saturday’s game after taking a hard hit. His status is also in question for Saturday’s game. Boley threw two interceptions in the Cards’ 41-14 win at Kentucky.
It was Brohm’s first win over UK as the U of L head coach and the first win for Louisville in the series since 2017. The Cardinals have not won back-to-back games against Kentucky in a decade.
Louisville trails the all-time series against Kentucky 16-20.
Saturday’s Governor’s Cup will kick off at 12:00 PM EST on the ACC Network.
All betting lines are subject to change via FanDuel
