Complementary football gets Kentucky another double-digit win over Louisville
Offense, defense, and special teams. There are three phases in the game of football. For most of the year, two of those phases have let the Wildcats down. That wasn’t the case in this year’s edition of the Governor’s Cup.
Despite giving up a critical Middle 8 touchdown to Louisville right before the half, Kentucky had full control of the game throughout thanks to an offense that finished drives with points, a defense that created three takeaways, and a kicking game that made field goals.
The Cats got their best team performance of the season and it came at a great time. We’re live from the Kroger Field press box to break down what we just saw in another double-digit win for Kentucky over their heated rival.
Matt Ruffolo Game
The kicking game has been an issue all season. Most of the play from the third phase has been horrific. Not often has the kicking made a positive impact for Kentucky in a game this season.
Thanks to four field goals from Matt Ruffolo, it made a big impact on Saturday in the 26-13 win over Louisville.
The super senior kicker was responsible for 12 points draining kicks from 29, 35, 40, and 43 yards. Kentucky’s offense created seven scoring opportunities in 10 non-kneel possessions as the offense put up 3.71 points per scoring opportunity.
That’s not a great number, but it was an improvement over much of the season. In the punting department, Kentucky also got a solid performance from Wilson Berry as the Cats pinned Louisville inside the five on the road team’s final possession of the game.
Louisville entered Saturday having the superior kicking game. However, UK’s third phase made the ultimate difference in the rivalry win.
Kentucky beats Louisville at their own game
Louisville has won games with their kicking game this season. That didn’t happen on Saturday. But more importantly, the Cards have swung games with their defense’s ability to create takeaways.
However, Bryan Brown’s defense which entered Week 13 ranking No. 2 nationally in takeaways didn’t force a turnover in a game for only the third time this season. Kentucky flipped the script by forcing three turnovers in 10 defensive possessions.
J.J. Weaver‘s sack fumble in the second quarter gave Kentucky an immediate goal-to-go possession that led to a field goal. Trevin Wallace‘s interception in the third quarter created an instant red zone possession that led to a touchdown to extend the lead to 23-7. Jordan Lovett‘s interception in the fourth quarter ended the game.
Kentucky’s defense was the more impactful unit in the matchup between two top-20 defenses. The Cats won the game by doing what Louisville has done so well all season.
Kentucky’s stars were stars
Expectations were high this season for Kentucky football due to the Cats returning a star-studded backfield that had Will Levis at quarterback and Chris Rodriguez Jr. at tailback. Unfortunately, health and availability have not been on UK’s side for most of the year.
But Kentucky had each healthy and ready to play against Louisville. Both redshirt seniors played well in the big rivalry win.
Entering the contest, we all knew that a heavy workload was coming for RB1. Rodriguez had rushed for 246 yards on 9.8 yards per rush in two previous meetings against Louisville. The former All-SEC back had another big game against the Cards with 120 yards on 24 carries with a 50 percent success rate and 5.0 yards per rush.
In the passing game, Levis delivered. The NFL Draft prospect finished the game with a 52.4 percent passing success rate on 9.9 yards per pass attempt. Levis took care of the football and delivered two touchdown passes in the red zone.
Kentucky needed its best players on offense to play well to beat Louisville. The Cats got good performances from both Levis and Rodriguez.
Kentucky answers the bell in another swing game
At the of the day, the 2022 year for Kentucky football will go down as a disappointing season. The Cats did not take advantage of an eight-game home schedule and lost two games as a favorite at home to SEC East foes. A team that had a great shot to push for 10 regular-season wins came woefully short of expectations.
Kentucky got to this point for a multitude of reasons — offensive ineptitude, bad special teams, and some missed opportunities at home on defense. However, there is a big difference between 7-5 and 6-6. The Cats avoided the disaster scenario on Saturday.
In their third true swing game of the season, Kentucky again responded. The Cats played their best team game on Saturday to keep the Governor’s Cup in Lexington. Now, this program enters a critical month with some positive momentum.
The win on Saturday was a much-needed jolt for the program and fanbase. Kentucky could not afford a loss to Louisville right now. The Big Blue delivered, and now it’s time to start building for the future with some young talent returning on both sides of the football and some important personnel decisions to be made by Mark Stoops.
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