KSR GAMEDAY: Kentucky Seeks Bowl Eligibility Against Louisville in the Governor's Cup

Rivalry Saturday is here, and the stakes couldn’t be higher for the Kentucky Wildcats in the battle for the Governor’s Cup.

Kentucky needs to win to return to a bowl game after a one-year absence. The Cats looked cooked at the beginning of the season, but rattled off three straight victories to have a shot at getting back to postseason play. A victory is just what this program needs to create some momentum going into a crucial offseason that’s filled with so much uncertainty.

In case that wasn’t enough, this team desperately needs to get a bad taste out of its mouth. Vanderbilt thumped Kentucky last week in Nashville. There are also plenty of players on this roster who remember how ugly things got the last time they played the Cards.

“I’ve watched that game, I don’t know how many times. Yeah, it definitely still stings,” Kentucky center Jager Burton said earlier this week.

Kentucky is facing a vulnerable Louisville team, one that had CFP aspirations not that long ago. Then they lost at home in overtime to Cal, the start of a three-game losing streak. Can Kentucky make the Cards quit? We’ll find out how much fight is on either side shortly after the ball is kicked off at L&N Stadium this afternoon.

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Kentucky vs. Louisville: How to Watch/Listen

• Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET
• TV: ACC Network (Jorge Sedano, Rodney McLeod, Victoria Arlen)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Jeff Piecoro, Dick Gabriel)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 160 or 191

You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before kickoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.

Significant Injuries for Kentucky and Louisville

There is no official injury report for this game, which has led Mark Stoops to keep things close to the vest ahead of this contest. Nevertheless, we know the Kentucky defense is banged up. The Wildcats are down to one nickelback, and had three cornerbacks sidelined last Saturday, forcing freshman Grant Grayton into a starting role. We also learned this week that Kentucky will be without EDGE Kam Olds and TE Josh Kattus.

If you think that’s bad, Louisville’s offense is significantly more depleted. The Cards are expected to be without their top three running backs and star wide receiver Chris Bell. Two wide receivers, Shaun Boykins and Caullin Lacy, took carries last week. Their other running back option is a freshman walk-on from Ashland, Braxton Jennings. They may also be playing a backup quarterback, with Miller Moss considered questionable for this contest.

Kentucky vs. Louisville Gambling Angles and Trends

Kentucky is a 2.5-point underdog against Louisville on BetMGM. Vegas is expecting a low-scoring game, with a total of 47.5.

Louisville is 0-7 Against the Spread (ATS) at home this season. Mark Stoops is 7-3-1 ATS in this series with covers as a double-digit dog in 2014 and 2016. Kentucky has beaten Louisville outright as a dog three times since 2016 and is 5-1 ATS in this series over the last six games. The visitor is 12-3-1 ATS (11-5 outright) in the last 16 meetings of this series with 10 outright upset wins.

[Read the KSR Plus Scouting Report on the Louisville Cardinals.]

Get Hyped

Saturday Gameday Schedule

9:00 am — The KSR Pregame Show
9:45 am — Cat Walk near Gate 2, adjacent to Floyd Street
10:30 am — Gates Open at L&N Stadium
11:00 am — Doors Open at KSBar and Grille
Noon — Kickoff on ACC Network

Today’s Uniforms

Louisville will be wearing all-red uniforms on Saturday, with the Cardinal bird in a Heisman pose on the lids. Even though many people want to see a “color rush” game between all-red and all-blue, Kentucky will be wearing the icy, all-white uniforms with chrome helmets. It’s the same look we saw the last time Kentucky played in Louisville, and the Wildcats shocked the Cards with an upset victory.

This Caturday's threads 🥶🧊

🙋‍♂️ @jager_burton pic.twitter.com/cOV2Q3k2ta

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 26, 2025

Kentucky WBB gets a W

Kenny Brooks’ Cats suffered their first loss of the season during a Feast Week trip to Puerto Rico. They took out whatever pain from the loss to Maryland and put it on Morgan State. The Wildcats ran away from the Bears with a 101-39 victory. Five Wildcats scored in double figures in the win: Asia Boone (21 points), Teonni Key (16 points), Jordan Obi (17 points), Clara Strack (13 points), and Kaelyn Carroll (15).

The Wildcats will stay in the tropical climate a little longer. Kentucky plays at Miami on Wednesday in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Rivalry Saturday Slate

No. 1 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan	Noon	FOX
No. 5 Texas Tech at West Virginia	Noon	ESPN
No. 12 Miami at No. 22 Pittsburgh	Noon	ABC
Houston at Baylor	Noon	TNT
Colorado at Kansas State	Noon	FS1
Ball State at Miami (Ohio)	Noon	CBS Sports Network
Clemson at South Carolina	Noon	SEC Network
Iowa State at Oklahoma State	Noon	ESPNU
Kentucky at Louisville	Noon	ACC Network
UCF at No. 11 BYU	1:00pm	ESPN2
Boston College at Syracuse	3:00pm	The CW
Missouri at Arkansas	3:30pm	SEC Network
Cincinnati at TCU	3:30pm	FOX
Wisconsin at Minnesota	3:30pm	FS1
No. 14 Vanderbilt at No. 19 Tennessee	3:30pm	ESPN
Penn State at Rutgers	3:30pm	Big Ten Network
Wake Forest at Duke	3:30pm	ACC Network
LSU at No. 8 Oklahoma	3:30pm	ABC
No. 6 Oregon at Washington	3:30pm	CBS
Kennesaw State at Liberty	3:30pm	CBS Sports Network
James Madison at Coastal Carolina	3:45pm	ESPNU
Florida State at Florida	4:00pm	ESPN2
Oregon State at Washington State	6:30pm	The CW
Virginia Tech at No. 18 Virginia	7:00pm	ESPN
Maryland at Michigan State (Detroit)	7:00pm	FS1
UCLA at No. 17 USC	7:30pm	NBC
No. 10 Alabama at Auburn	7:30pm	ABC
North Carolina at NC State	7:30pm	ACC Network
Northwestern at Illinois	7:30pm	FOX
Charlotte at No. 24 Tulane	7:30pm	ESPNU
No. 21 SMU at California	8:00pm	ESPN2
UNLV at Nevada	9:00pm	CBS Sports Network
No. 9 Notre Dame at Stanford	10:30pm	ESPN
Fresno State at San Jose State	10:30pm	FS1