Louisville Beats Kentucky For Governor’s Cup, Cardinals & Wildcats Teams Headed In Opposite Directions

Big East preseason favorite AP No. 25 Louisville imposed its will on the Kentucky defense, and took advantage of Wildcat errors on the opposite end to cruise to the 2012 Governor’s Cup, 32-14. UL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was outstanding. He improved vastly in his freshman season after Charlie Strong opted to replace offensive coordinator Mike Sanford with Shawn Watson, so it’s small wonder Bridgewater looked even sharper after an offseason with Watson.

The Cardinal sophomore was almost perfect at 19-21 passing, moving the ball on Kentucky’s defense while running back Jeremy Wright punched it into the end zone three times. Louisville raised a red flag for UK that matched the Cardinals’ uniforms, with backs Wright and Senories Perry combining for 211 yards. Rushing was a facet of the offense UL struggled to establish last season, ranking No. 93 in the nation during the post-Bilal Powell era. The Wildcat defense is going to have its hands full against Marcus Lattimore, Todd Gurley, the multifaceted rushing attack of Missouri and Mike Gillislee.

Moreover, today’s outcome was indicative of the two different directions these programs are headed. Last season’s Cardinal win snapped a four-season Wildcat win streak. Every year in that run, UK bowled. The 2011 campaign began with a defeat against the Cardinals, and ended with Kentucky out of the postseason picture.

Jason of WildcatBlueNation.com appeared on our SEC Tour podcast last week and said this game was a definite tone-setter in a must-bowl campaign for Joker Phillips. The tone is now decidedly negative.

UK can and should win its next two against Kent State and Western Kentucky, but then enters a brutal stretch wherein every opponent UK faces bowled in the 2011 postseason. Only on the Wildcats’ Homecoming weekend against FCS Samford does UK get some relief. UK could be headed to a very challenging and another losing season.

Meanwhile UL begins 2012 with an emphatic answer to some of its offseason question. Bridgewater was fantastic, and the suspect rushing game emerged as an apparent strength. Defense is typically a strong suit of UL teams, and no one coaches that side of the ball better than Strong or coordinator Vance Bedford. However, the Cardinals surrendered nearly as many yards as their offense mustered. Wildcat quarterback Max Smith operated without a ton of pressure, completing 70 percent of his 50 pass attempts and scoring both UK touchdowns. The second came after the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Smith’s effectiveness should be seen as a positive takeaway for the Wildcats moving forward. Conversely, UL needs improvement on the defensive line. The secondary is experienced with Hakeem Smith anchoring it, but applying more pressure will take some of the onus off that unit.