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C.L. Brown for the Louisville Courier-Journal Tweets:
UK outgained cards 193-30 in 1st qtr
UK's o-line seems to be pretty routinely blasting Louisville off the line of scrimmage.
Also, Cardinals receiver Josh Bellamy had a pretty nasty injury during the first quarter. He laid motionless on the ground for several minutes.
Kentucky leads Louisville 13-3 as the second quarter resumes.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (42,000) -- Louisville, Kentucky. Television: ABC. Home Record: Kentucky 0-0, Louisville 0-0. Away Record: Kentucky 0-0, Louisville 0-0. Neutral Record: Kentucky 0-0, Louisville 0-0. Conference Record: Kentucky 0-0, Louisville 0-0. Series Record: Kentucky leads, 13-9.
GAME NOTES: Bitter rivals will collide at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as the Louisville Cardinals welcome the Kentucky Wildcats to town.
Both of these teams feature new head coaches. Joker Phillips takes over for the retired Rich Brooks at Kentucky. Brooks stopped by a Wildcats' practice last week, and Phillips let the media in on Brooks message to the players.
"We have tried to get this thing to the next level the last couple of years and have come close," Phillips said when asked what Brooks said to the team. "He talked about making sure we take care of our business so we can take it to the next level."
Last season, Kentucky started strong but faded late to finish 7-6, including a bowl loss to Tennessee. There is reason to believe that improvement is possible, as many key contributors are back in the fold.
As for Louisville, it is now led by Charlie Strong, who excelled as the defensive coordinator of the Florida Gators. The Cardinals went to nine consecutive bowl games, culminating with a 2007 Orange Bowl victory over Wake Forest, but the program declined quickly under Steve Kragthorpe. What Strong inherits from Kragthorpe is a 4-8 team which won just once in Big East action a year ago. For that reason, Strong made a clear statement upon being hired.
"Some guys are just eating up scholarships," says Strong. "If you're here, you've got to contribute."
Kentucky owns a 13-9 series advantage over Louisville, which includes a thrilling 31-27 victory in last season's meeting.
There will be quite a few new starters on the offensive side of the ball for Kentucky in this opener, but the return of some standouts have fans of the program excited. Junior Randall Cobb is the star of the Wildcat team, as the wide receiver/tailback/quarterback/punt returner is electric with the ball in his hands.
"He's got to get the ball in a number of different areas, whether it be special teams, punt returner, kick returner, whether he's lined up at quarterback, receiver," says Phillips of Cobb. "He's one of the most dynamic players in the SEC."
In addition to Cobb, the 'Cats will rely on talented tailback Derrick Locke, who carried the ball 195 times for 907 yards and six touchdowns a year ago. Mike Hartline won the quarterback battle in fall camp and will line up under center against Louisville. Hartline has been the opening-game starter in each of the past two season, but he has had trouble staying healthy and has been inconsistent. In 21 career games, the signal-caller has thrown for 2,502 yards and 15 touchdowns.
More than half of the defensive starters for Kentucky return, but the losses were significant. Don't be surprised if the secondary proves to be the strength of this unit. The best of the bunch is safety Winston Guy, a big-time hitter with cover skills who is on the radar of NFL scouts as he enters his junior season. Randall Burden takes over for NFL draftee Trevard Lindley as the shutdown corner, and he intercepted a pair of passes a season ago. There are three new starters at linebacker, so it is a good thing that Kentucky starts its season against a lesser opponent so that the middle tier of the defense can develop some cohesion. Three of the four starters are back up front, including ends DeQuin Evans and Taylor Wyndham. Evans posted six sacks a year ago and is the team's most accomplished pass rusher.
It is hard to believe that Louisville ranked 71st in the nation in passing last season considering the fact that the Cardinals were one of college football's top passing teams during the "glory days". The Cards averaged a dismal 18.1 ppg in 2009, good for the 111th position among all FBS programs. Adam Froman has won the starting quarterback job, but he has proven nothing and has little talent to work with at receiver. Fortunately, there is significant talent at the tailback position for Louisville. Victor Anderson is an impressive performer who has averaged 5.6 yards per carry over his first two seasons, but he may play second fiddle to Bilal Powell early on. Powell is atop the depth chart entering this opener and will get plenty of touches.
Last season, the Cardinals allowed 26.3 ppg and 371.1 total ypg, numbers that can certainly stand some improvement. The biggest problem for the club was that it finished last in the league against the run, and considering the fact that there is a glaring lack of size on the defensive side of the ball, coach Strong will have to rely more on quickness than strength. Brandon Heath has been a disappointment thus far at the collegiate level, but the weakside linebacker hopes the 2010 season will prove to be his breakout campaign. He is out of chances after this, however, as Heath is a senior. In the defensive backfield, there is a ton of room for improvement. Johnny Patrick is an aggressive corner who is the tier's only returning starter entering this opener.
Kentucky gets the nod in this rivalry game. Expect Cobb and Locke to light up the scoreboard.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Kentucky 37, Louisville 20
September 4th, 3:30 p.m. (et)
Kentucky takes home the Governor's Cup
Louisville, KY (Sports Network) – Derrick Locke ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns as the Kentucky Wildcats outlasted their cross-state rivals, the Louisville Cardinals, 23-16, in the annual Governor’s Cup game at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Randall Cobb ran for 80 yards for Kentucky (1-0) on just four carries and also scored a touchdown. Mike Hartline, who missed much of last year with an injury, was 17-of-26 through the air for the Wildcats for 217 yards.
Bilal Powell ran for 153 yards and one touchdown for the Cardinals (0-1), while Adam Froman finished with only 127 yards through the air, to go along with one interception.
Kentucky got on the scoreboard just 35 seconds into the game when Locke dashed 32 yards for a touchdown. However, Ryan Tydlacka’s extra point try was no good, leaving the score at 6-0.
Locke added a one yard touchdown run in the finale minute of the first period to give the Wildcats a 13-0 lead.
Louisville got on the scoreboard seconds into the second quarter on Chris Philpott’s 44-yard field goal.
Cobb extended Kentucky’s lead to 20-3 on its next possession with a 51-yard run.
Philpott’s 32-yard field goal capped off a 16-play drive for the Cardinals, cutting their deficit to 20-6.
Kentucky extended its lead on its first possession of the second half when Tydlacka booted a 41-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.
On the first play of Louisville’s next possession Powell broke free into the open field and proceeded to scamper downfield for an 80-yard touchdown run.
Philpott’s third field goal of the day, a 27-yard boot, cut Louisville’s deficit to 23-16 late in the final frame.
The Cardinals would not pull any closer however, as the Wildcats held on for the seven-point win.
Kentucky had a 466-317 edge in total offensive yardage.
Both head coaches, Joker Phillips of Kentucky and Charlie Strong from Louisville were making their debuts with their respective teams.
Sep 05 10:30a by Brad Wells - 0 comments