Louisville Obliterates Kentucky 41-0 to Put Mark Stoops' Future in Doubt

Kentucky football fans were ready for a change in leadership. Then Mark Stoops rallied his troops to win three straight games to cool the temperature of his seat. All Kentucky needed was one win over either Vanderbilt or Louisville to return to a bowl game and give this program some much-needed positive momentum.

Not only did Kentucky lose both games, they were non-competitive, blowout losses. For the first time in school history, Kentucky lost its final two games by 28+ points.

Louisville had a skeleton crew on offense, without a scholarship running back and their leading receiver, but it didn’t matter. The Kentucky offense was lifeless on offense for most of the frigid afternoon at L&N Stadium. During one stretch, the Wildcats netted zero yards on five possessions. When the dust settled, Louisville was hoisting the Governor’s Cup after a 41-0 victory.

Kentucky had an opportunity to salvage the season with a rivalry win. Instead, the Cats looked like a poorly coached team that wasn’t ready to play. It was an unmitigated disaster on offense, defense, and special teams. If it wasn’t already, this looks like an untenable situation between Stoops and Kentucky. It could be an eventful next 24 hours.

Kentucky Hands Louisville Easy Points

It got overlooked, but Kentucky nearly had punts blocked in the last two games. As we all know, the third time’s a charm. Kentucky’s second punt attempt was blocked, giving Louisville the ball at the 10-yard line. On fourth and inches, Miller Moss reached the ball over the goal line for the first touchdown of the game.

That wasn’t Louisville’s only touchdown-scoring drive that required less than 20 yards. Trailing by 20 in the third quarter, Kentucky went for it on 4th and 2 deep in their own territory. The pass was dropped. Two players later, wide receiver turned running back Shaun Boykins was running into the end zone to give the Cards a 27-0 lead.

Cutter Boley got Hit Early and Often

Following the blocked punt, Kentucky’s offense actually had a decent counterpunch. The Wildcats drove the ball 41 yards down the field. That’s when the pressure got to Cutter Boley.

An intentional grounding penalty stalled all progress, and Kentucky was forced to attempt a 52-yard field goal that fell short. Kentucky would not get within striking range until well into the third quarter, when Boley’s pass toward the end zone was picked off. Similar to the Vanderbilt game, the Cats just couldn’t handle pressure. Boley was sacked six times and hit at least two more times. He finished the day 14-27 for 107 yards and 2 interceptions.

Louisville Gashed the Kentucky Defense

It’s not hyperbole to say that Louisville essentially had a JV roster on offense. They started Braxton Jennings, a walk-on from Ashland, at running back, who shared carries with Boykins, a North Hardin product who was recruited to play wide receiver. It didn’t matter. They both still ran for 100+ yards, something the Cards have not done since the last time they played Kentucky.

Miller Moss has been criticized all season long by Louisville fans. He returned to action after missing the SMU game and did enough (12-20, 182 yards, 3 TDs ) to turn L&N Stadium into a party in the fourth quarter. The Cards capped off the day with a 17-play, 99-yard scoring drive. It doesn’t get any more demoralizing than that.

This Kentucky football team showed in late October that despite the difficult circumstances, they had no quit. That was clearly not the case today. Of all the embarrassing losses in the Mark Stoops era, this one is near the top of the list.

Box Score

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