It would not be 7 straight for the Governor’s to be in Lexington. The Kentucky Wildcats got blown out by the rival Louisville Cardinals 41-14 on Saturday. Kentucky got the ball first and looked to have a drive going following runs of 14 and 15 yards by Jamarion Wilcox, but at the end of the second run, he would cough up the ball. It was a sign of things to come for Kentucky. They held UL on the ensuing drive but would punt it right back after their own 3 and out.
UL would get on the board first on the next drive, a methodical 9play 60 yard drive ending with a 1 yard TD run by Isaac Brown, the first of 2 on the day. He would also end the day with 178 yards on 26 carries. Joining him with 2 TDs of his own and over 100 yards rushing was Duke Watson who had 104 yards on just 6 carries.
The teams would trade punts the rest of the 1 st quarter before UL broke the game open in the 2nd . Cutter Boley would have a rough start and on the first play of the 2 nd quarter, his pass was intercepted by Tamarion McDonald. UL would have to settle for a FG after having a TD taken off the board for an illegal touching penalty, but after a UK punt, they would get it back in a hurry, ON the first play, Watson would take the handoff and scamper 58 yards for a score making it 17-0 with 11:16 on the clock before halftime.
Kentucky looked to have another promising drive going on the ensuing possession, driving it down to the UL 17, but Boley would throw his 2 nd interception of the day in the endzone on a pass intended for Jamori Maclin. He would also be flagged for unnecessary roughness after the return. Kentucky would get one more shot to score but were unable to take advantage on the forced fumble on UL’s next drive. They would go into the half trailing 20-0.
After forcing a punt on UL’s first possession of the 2 nd half, Boley would be knocked out of the game after a roughing the passer with targeting penalty and be replaced by Gavin Wimsatt. Wimsatt would lead Kentucky on their first scoring drive of the day, throwing a 4 yard TD pass to Maclin. Maclin would also haul in a 34 yard reception on that drive, coupled with 20 yards rushing by Wilcox.
It looked like Kentucky was building some momentum after forcing another UL punt, but on the very next play, Wilcox would cough it up for a second time. This time, however, it was returned for a TD making it 27-7. Kentucky would go 3 and out on the next possession and UL would take the ball and march 60 yards, capping it off with a 24 yard Watson TD, essentially ending the game.
There would be some fireworks early in the 4 th quarter, in an otherwise lopsided game. First,
Wimsatt would connect with Maclin on an 83 yard TD pass, by far his longest reception of the year. On
the second play of the next possession, Brown would take off for a 67 yard TD of his own, making it 41-
14 and officially sending The Governor’s Cup back to Louisville.
It was a fitting end to what has been a miserable season for the Kentucky football fans and program. It also left a lot of questions for what the future of the program will look like. What players will be here next year? Will Mark Stoops be the head coach next year? What assistant coaches will be back next year? There are lots of rumors swirling around coaches on staff and these will become more fact or fiction in the coming weeks. Thankfully though, this season has finally come to an end.