Cats earn much-needed rivalry win

Nov. 27—LEXINGTON

The Kentucky football team finally had something to smile about.

Following what can only be described as a disappointing second half to the 2022 college football campaign, the Wildcats closed the regular season with a 26-13 win over arch-rival Louisville on Saturday at Kroger Field.

The victory sends UK (7-5) into the postseason with some positive momentum and, perhaps more importantly than anything, a renewed sense of confidence — both within the locker room and in the stands.

It wasn't difficult to see how much the win meant to head coach Mark Stoops and his players.

"I know it's important to this state," Stoops said. "It's important to our football players and our staff, and I just really appreciate the way they dug in and competed and finished the season. It's challenging, and our team responded the way I'd hoped."

Matt Ruffolo kicked a career-best four field goals on the way to winning Most Valuable Player honors.

Will Levis completed 11-of-19 pass attempts for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. rushed for 120 yards on 24 carries for his fifth 100-yard effort in eight games this season. In the process, he became the program's career leader in 100-yard games with 20.

Wideouts Barion Brown and Dane Key continued their stellar freshman campaigns, with the duo combining for 81 yards and two scores on seven catches. Key now has six TDs, extending the freshman receiving record he already holds.

As a whole, the Kentucky offense finished with 346 total yards and, at times, showed the poise and toughness that everyone expected when the year began. The best part for UK coaches was the zero turnovers against a U of L squad that was second in the nation in forced turnovers.

"It was very big," Stoops said of his team's ball security. "It says a lot to our guys and the way we finished there. We had good balance, certainly early. Turnovers were big."

It was a far-from-perfect offensive outing from the Cats, but it was absolutely the type of effort they needed.

UK committed nine penalties in the first half but didn't have any miscues after intermission.

Kentucky's much-maligned offensive line surrendered four sacks, but it could've been much worse considering the Cardinals entered the game leading the nation with 3.73 sacks per matchup.

Defensively, the Cats were outstanding, as usual.

They held Louisville to only 309 yards of total offense — the Cardinals' offensive attack was obviously limited with a hobbled Malik Cunningham playing sparingly — and forced three turnovers with two sacks and seven tackles for loss.

U of L's Jawhar Jordan had a tremendous performance, with 145 yards on 22 rushing attempts, but he couldn't shoulder the burden that came with trying to find success against UK's shutdown defense.

Cardinals quarterbacks Brock Domann and Cunningham combined for only 145 passing yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

"To me, that was the difference in the game," Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said. "We couldn't generate enough offensively throwing the football. We ran the ball pretty decent tonight. But it comes down to those throws and we got behind, which makes it more difficult.

"They want us to try to force it down the field and not be patient with it. We can't run out of time, but we also need to make it down the field. I thought they did a good job with that, and we did not."

So, after the game, as Kentucky players and coaches hoisted the Governor's Cup at midfield for the fourth straight year, they were all smiles.

And for good reason.

"I'm really grateful for this victory," Stoops said. "I really feel like our team emptied the tank once again, and that's all you can ask."

Now, the Cats will stand by to learn the destination for their bowl game. There are still plenty of scenarios and options left to be sorted out, but UK players and fans will have a much easier time waiting after a season-closing victory over their bitter rivals.