Cats-Cards matchups storylines and game info
AT A GLANCE
Kentucky at No. 24 Louisville
Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (55,000), Louisville, Ky.
Noon
RECORDS
Kentucky 5-6, 2-6 SEC; No. 24 Louisville 8-3, 5-3 ACC
ON THE AIR
TV: ESPN2 (Beth Mowins, Joe Galloway, Paul Carcaterra)
Radio: WHAS-AM 840 (Paul Rogers, Craig Swabek, Doug Ormay)
FAVORITE
Louisville by 13 ½
SERIES
UK leads 14-12. Last meeting: U of L won 27-13 on Sept. 14, 2013 in Lexington, Ky.
COACHES
Kentucky: Mark Stoops (7-16, second season). Louisville: Bobby Petrino (49-12, fifth season at U of L; 91-33, 10th season overall)
MATCHUPS THAT MATTER
Bobby Petrino vs. Mark Stoops. Petrino won all four games agaisnt Kentucky in his last stop at Louisville, by an average of 20.5 points from 2003-06. He also beat the Cats last season as Western Kentucky's coach. His only loss to UK came by a single point, 21-20, while coaching Arkansas in 2008. Stoops enjoyed great success as an assistant coach at power programs like Miami and Florida State, but he's still finding his way as a head coach. He lost to both Petrino (at WKU) and Louisville (then under Charlie Strong) in his debut season last fall. Stoops is nine games below .500 in almost two seasons as the boss and needs this win to reach his first bowl game, while Petrino has a shot at his fifth 10-win season in his last nine years as a college coach. Advantage: Louisville.
Patrick Towles vs. Gerod Holliman, U of L DBs. Kentucky's sophomore QB has had a strong first season as the starter, piling up 2,835 total yards so far – most since Mike Hartline's 3,143 in 2010, which was also the last time the Cats made a bowl game. But since producing 466 yards against then-No. 1 Mississippi State, Towles has averaged just 184.7 total yards the last three games. Now he's facing Holliman, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award who has a national-best 13 interceptions and needs just one more to tie the 56-year-old NCAA record. "Hopefully he can get it in the bowl game and not against us," UK offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. But Holliman is not alone, as fellow defensive backs James Sample and Charles Gaines each have multiple picks this season and the Cards lead the country in interceptions. Advantage: Louisville
Cats' O-line vs. Cards' front seven. This is where it could really get ugly, as U of L has the No. 3 run defense in the country, allowing just 2.85 yards per carry and 88.5 yards per game on the ground. The Cards also rank top-20 nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss, led by 6-2, 305-pound Sheldon Rankins and 6-4, 252-pound Lorenzo Mauldin. Those two have combined for 13 ½ sacks and 25 tackles for loss. Kentucky, meanwhile, ranks 114th in sacks allowed (33) and has rushed for 103 yards or fewer in four of the last five games. "It's tough," to run on U of L, Brown said. "There's not been a whole lot of people who've had success." The good news for the Cats is their battered offensive line, riddled with injuries, got a bye week to recuperate and will be near full strength, at least. Advantage: Louisville.
UK run defense vs. U of L's running backs. In the second half of the season, Louisville's mostly stuck with Brandon Radcliff and Michael Dyer to carry the rushing load. Add in dual-threat quarterback Reggie Bonnafon now that he's replaced injured Will Gardner full-time. The Cards love running off the tackles and getting Bonnafon, Dyer and Radcliff in space, where their speed makes them big-play threats. What's misleading about U of L's team rushing stats is how the NCAA tabulates rushing yardage. Take away the 246 yards lost from sacks, and U of L has nearly 2,000 rushing yards in 11 games. UK allows 201 yards a game on the ground – and a staggering 1,304 over the last five games. Considering Louisville has run it fewer than 30 times just once this season, that stat is a problem for the Wildcats. Advantage: Louisville.
Reggie Bonnafon vs. Kentucky's secondary. One of UK's best assets is its passing defense, which ranks 31st in the country in yards allowed per game. The Cats also have 13 interceptions this season. But in the past two weeks, Georgia and Tennessee shredded UK's defense for 551 passing yards and eight touchdowns (with no picks), completing 74 percent of their passes in the process. U of L's Bonnafon started hot against Notre Dame but totaled some average passing numbers by game's end, hitting just 8 of 21 passes and throwing an interception just before halftime. He has to do his best sell job on play actions – the key passing piece of Louisville's offense – to keep UK's defense honest. It helps he has DeVante Parker. Advantage: Push.
Cats' kick coverage vs. Cards' return game. Kentucky has given up four special-teams touchdowns – two from punts and two from kickoffs, among other kick-game blunders. Louisville, though, might not be able to take advantage. The Cards went to a more conservative, sure-handed punt returner in Eli Rogers and lost their best kick returner, Corvin Lamb, for the season. If U of L is to break one against the Cats' questionable coverage, it'll have to be Brandon Radcliff. The redshirt sophomore has had a few bursts in special teams, but he hasn't gotten loose for the big one yet this season. On the flipside, U of L hasn't exactly squashed kick and punt returns, either, though opponents only have one special-teams touchdown. Advantage: Push.
TALE OF THE TAPE
U of L UK
31.5 Avg. points scored 28.2
18.7 Avg. points allowed 30.1
155.5 Avg. yards rushing 154.3
233.9 Avg. yards passing 236.2
88.5 Opp. yards rushing 201.5
201.7 Opp. yards passing 200.0
+7 Turnover margin +6
Reach Kyle Tucker at ktucker@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.
Reach Jeff Greer at jgreer@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffGreer_CJ.