All The Times Mark Stoops Beat Louisville as an Underdog

Kentucky is a 3-point underdog for today’s game at Louisville on BetMGM. If you are a smart person who is locked into what’s happening on Kentucky Sports Radio, you know by now that the Cats excel as underdogs in this series, especially when they’re on the road. As Drew Franklin noted on this week’s KSR Football Podcast, his home has additional appliances, thanks to the Vegas oddsmakers. Before Kentucky tries to do it again, let’s enjoy some of those wonderful wins.

2016: That Time Lamar Fumbled

Stephen Johnson loved this sh*t. Lamar did the Heisman pose. Then he fumbled the game away and the Cards lost as 27.5-point favorites. A Kentucky fan may live an entire lifetime and never experience a more satisfying victory.

2019: Lynn Bowden Leaves No Doubt

It was a cold, rainy day at Kroger Field. Lynn Bowden had been incredible in the back half of the season, but things weren’t clicking right away in this rivalry game. Louisville popped a 56-yard touchdown run right before halftime to make it a 17-13 game.

During my nervous halftime walk around the pressbox, I asked Tom Leach the dumbest question I’ve ever asked in my entire life, “Do they need to pull Bowden and try something different at quarterback?”

On the second snap of the second half, Bowden ripped a 60-yard touchdown run, one of the most incredible runs you’ll ever see in a football game. He would rush for a Governor’s Cup record 284 yards and four touchdowns. Kentucky only completed one pass in the 45-13 blowout victory.

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2021: They Actually Made Louisville a Favorite?

Kentucky had eight wins ahead of the season finale against Louisville. Why was Louisville a favorite against an 8-win SEC football team? Because the week before, Malik Cunningham put up silly numbers against Duke, scoring seven total touchdowns and racking up 527 yards of offense.

People actually convinced themselves that Louisville was good at football. Instead, Cunningham suffered one of his four losses against the Cats. Will Levis showed Cunningham how to football, rushing for four touchdowns in a game that was never close.

2023: Kentucky Spoils Brohm’s Debut

The first Governor’s Cup of the Brohm era was supposed to serve as a coronation. Louisville was a 10-win team, on its way to the ACC Championship Game. It was a party at Dont-Call-Me-Papa-Johns, until Barion Brown had a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. Ray Davis had three touchdowns in the second half, threw Ls Down in Jack Harlow’s face, and gave the Cats a lead with 62 seconds remaining to secure another Top 10 win for Mark Stoops.

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