This upcoming week in college football is widely regarded as Rivalry Week. A week of great significance to many teams and their respective fan bases, these games are circled on everyone’s calendars. One of the first matchups on Saturday’s slate will be the battle for the Governor’s Cup: the Kentucky Wildcats versus the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville opens as the favorite against Kentucky despite the Cats hosting the game in Lexington.
Kentucky has kept the Governor’s Cup in Lexington for five straight years, winning the annual matchup from 2018 to 2023. The Wildcats have struggled of late, losing five of their last six games, their season has been underwhelming. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are coming off a sizable win against conference foe Pittsburgh, 37-9. This could be Louisville’s chance to take control of the rivalry once again for the first time since Lamar Jackson did in 2017.
Unpredictable Cards
Louisville has had a couple of quality wins this year, like the great game they played on the road at Clemson. After an amazing win against the Tigers, they turned around the next week and lost to a 2-7 Stanford team. It is hard to know what to expect from this team; they have a tendency to give up a lot of points to opponents. When the Cardinals play to their potential, they can be dangerously good, as shown in the Clemson and Miami games. The confidence and momentum from the Pitt game could play a factor in this one.
Hope for Kentucky
Although morale must be low for the Wildcat fanbase, a spark of hope has risen in the wake of their struggles at the quarterback position. True freshman QB Cutter Boley out of Hodgenville, Kentucky, has won the starting position ahead of the Battle of the Bluegrass. Fans have expressed their joy at this decision after the mediocre stretch of games the Cats have had in recent weeks. With no bowl game in the picture, all Kentucky fans want is to finish the season strong by keeping the trophy for this historic rivalry in Lexington for another year.
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