Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats

A position made all that sweeter after finishing the season 7-5 and bowl eligible. There’s a small chance there won’t be enough six-win teams to fill all the bowl slots, leaving room for a 5-7 team, though that didn’t do much to cushion the disappointing on the United Kingdom side Saturday. The Cardinals have won the past four meetings. The over/under for this game is 54 total points.

Kentucky players celebrate as they and head coach Mark Stoops, …

After Forrest’s pick six Louisville replaced starter Kyle Bolin with electric freshman Lamar Jackson who proved to be the difference in the game.

Jackson was magnificent in leading the Louisville comeback.

With Jackson taking lead, the Cardinals rolled up 489 yards of total offense.

The Odds: Louisville is a 4 point favorite against Kentucky. Brandon Radcliff’s 6-yard run made it 24-17, capping a six-play, 66-yard drive. Kentucky Wildcats rank at 97 for scoring 24.3 points where as Louisville Cardinals rank at 36 for allowing 21.9 scores. And then we got the ball at, what, the 25 and got nothing out of it; went backwards.

After punting on its first possession of the second half, Louisville scored four of the next five times it had the football.

Some 51 yards of the second half came on the final drive of the game when Patrick Towles came in to relieve Drew Barker. This season, the Wildcats started 4-1 then lost five straight before beating Charlotte last week but they needed a win on Saturday over Louisville to secure their sixth win.

After the game, Jackson was named Most Valuable Player.

Kentucky wide receiver Dorian Baker gets a first down before being…

Towles was 3 of 4 passing on that series, for 71 yards.

The Wildcats took the initiative right out of the gate, taking the opening kickoff and driving 75 yards for a touchdown. United Kingdom was facing the possibility of dominating the first half but only going in with a TD lead if UL could take advantage.

Kentucky safety A.J. Stamps returns an interception during the… He’s thrown for 1,483 yards on the season, with nine touchdowns and seven picks. Kentucky struggled to contain the mobility of Louisville backup quarterback Lamar Jackson. Kentucky defeated Petrino’s Razorbacks 21-20 in 2008. That’s Petrino’s only loss in seven games against Kentucky.

By contrast, Louisville managed 204 yards on 23 plays in the third quarter. While the ‘Cats could not capitalize, they did pin the Cardinals on the 5 yard line.

Both teams traded punts before UL was able to put together a scoring drive with a John Wallace Field Goal to bring it to 24-10. The ball was intended for Jeff Badet, and went off Badet’s hands into the hands of the nearby Johnson.

Kentucky running back Stanley Williams breaks through the… Subbing for Williams, who re-injured his elbow at the end of the first quarter and had to leave, Horton turned a short pass from Barker on a 3rd-and-long play near midfield into a 30 yards gain.

Unsung hero: The Louisville defense.