Emotions Run High in Governor's Cup Rivalry, Will Kentucky or Louisville Benefit?

by:Nick Roush•11/25/22•

RoushKSR

Emotions run high in the Battle for the Governor’s Cup. Before Mark Stoops’ first game in Lexington, Bobby Petrino grabbed a Kentucky assistant by the collar during a scuffle at midfield. In 2017 trashcans were thrown in a melee with Lamar Jackson on the sideline. Malik Cunningham and Vito Tisdale got chippy a year ago.

“It’s a rivalry game. It doesn’t matter about records, whether you’re undefeated or haven’t won a game. Your fanbase wants to win this one for bragging rights,” Scott Satterfield said this week.

“We hear about it throughout the whole year, no matter where we go. Fans on either side will make a comment about it. It’s obviously a huge game, one we want to try to go get so we don’t have to hear some of that stuff in the offseason.”

Satterfield is winless in two Governor’s Cup appearances. Each team approaches the emotions of the rivalry differently. It could determine who is victorious Saturday afternoon.

Louisville let rivalry get “sideways”

Louisville was favored to win last year’s matchup. Despite falling behind early, they were still in the game when Cunningham got into it with the Cats near the UofL sideline.

“It was just one of those days where nothing went right,” said Satterfield. “Early in the game it was 14-7, we’re driving and we get in a little bit of scuffle on the sideline and we kind of lost our composure I felt. From that point forward it was straight downhill.”

Ahead of this year’s rematch, Satterfield knows the stakes are high. However, his message to his team is clear: don’t let emotions get the best of you.

“Anytime you get over-emotional in a situation like this, it takes away from the play. We have to worry about us, we have to worry about our guys and playing the ones besides you. Focus on your job and not anything else. Let the fans and everybody else do all that stuff. Let’s focus on what we have to do, which is our job on each and every play, that one-play focus. Guys are going to be emotional, but we have to channel it in the right direction and not get — I thought we got sideways in that one last year and kind of got us out of our game.”

Defensive coordinator Bryan Brown echoed that sentiment.

“It’s another game. It is a rivalry game. We understand that for sure. We just gotta go out and execute and not let our emotions dictate the way we play the game,” he said.

Kentucky Amplifies Rivalry Emotions

The message is clear on Floyd Street. Too much emotion can overwhelm the Cards. There’s a different tone in Lexington. Mark Stoops opened the week by showing the team a compilation of Kentucky highlights over the Cards. With about a dozen contributors playing in this game for the first time, the veterans are making sure the new guys are keenly aware of what this game means.

“Most people around the facility know this is a big rivalry. We tell them,” said senior Jordan Wright. “(Louisville) is going to try to do some extra stuff. You just don’t let that get to you, put your performance on the field and that’s how you talk back to them.”

At times this season, Kentucky has not come out ready to play. The energy has not consistently been there. That’s never been a problem for Mark Stoops’ teams in this game. Now that UofL is No. 25 in the CFB Playoff Rankings, there will probably be even more juice injected into the environment. Kentucky must use it to fuel them without going overboard.

“It’ll be an emotional day for me. For all of us, we just sort of have to keep it in check,” said defensive coordinator Brad White.

“You’ve got an emotional senior day and a rivalry game, there’s a lot of emotions going on. You’re going to run the gamut. But it’s going to be about composure. Whether it’s senior day, whether it’s rivalry, composure is going to be the key. The team that can stay composed, stay focused on the job at hand and not let their emotions get the best of them. They can let those emotions fuel them, but not overtake them.“