Bolin unlikely hero as Louisville wins 44-40

It seemed that the Louisville-Kentucky rivalry couldn't get any weirder or wilder, but Saturday's game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium took the series to a new level.

There were pregame (and in-game) scuffles, seven lead changes and even an unlikely hero, and a frenetic finish left Louisville lifting the Governor's Cup trophy for the fourth consecutive time after a thrilling 44-40 win at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in the 21st installment of the Governor's Cup and 27th meeting between the teams.

U of L (9-3) now must wait for its bowl fate, which will be decided a week from Sunday. In the meantime, the Cardinals will savor a victory that eliminated Kentucky (5-7) from a postseason bowl game.

"Wow, that was wild," U of L coach Bobby Petrino said as he began his post-game press conference. "It was a great game. The fourth quarter was a little bit wild, but we found a way to win."

They found that path to victory on the shoulders of Kyle Bolin, a redshirt freshman from Lexington who started the 2014 season off the depth chart all together.

When starting quarterback Reggie Bonnafon left the game with an unspecified knee injury, Bolin said Petrino simply turned to him and said, "Let's go."

Bolin didn't have his helmet with him, but he collected himself in time to complete 21 of 31 passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns against his hometown team.

DeVante Parker caught six of Bolin's throws, taking them for 180 yards and three touchdowns, tying the program record for career touchdown receptions (33) and winning the Governor's Cup MVP award.

"Before every game, I kind of picture myself out there playing. It wasn't this good," Bolin said, laughing. "It's just all surreal. It's ridiculous."

In most other cases, Bolin's unexpected impact on Saturday's game would be the biggest story.

This time, though, skirmishes stole the spotlight, and three of the dust-ups occurred before the teams even kicked off.

GAME REWIND: Look back at the Cards' 44-40 win

INJURY: Reggie Bonnafon leaves game with injured knee

As the teams barked and bumped near midfield about 30 minutes before kickoff, a photo from the UK student paper, the Kentucky Kernel, went viral online. The picture showed Petrino and UK recruiting coordinator Dan Berezowitz locked in a kerfuffle, and it quickly made its way around the U of L locker room.

"That's our boss man, and our boss man is going to stand up for what we have going on," Louisville cornerback Charles Gaines said.

Petrino said he was worried about things "getting out of hand," and he spoke to the Cardinals before kickoff.

That still didn't keep the teams from jawing and jabbing throughout the game. There were four offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties between the teams and two personal fouls.

"You know," UK coach Mark Stoops said, "I think emotions run high in this game. It was a hard-fought game."

The seven lead changes kept things entertaining for the game's entirety.

Bolin's interception was returned for a 40-yard touchdown by UK's Fred Tiller. Kentucky defensive tackle Mike Douglas picked up Bolin's fourth-quarter fumble and ran 30 yards for another score. Both turnovers helped the Wildcats reclaim the lead, but Louisville returned fire again and again.

After UK's final touchdown, a 14-yard Stanley "Boom" Williams sprint for a score, Louisville delivered the knockout blows.

Bolin completed three passes for 46 yards, and Brandon Radcliff did the rest, taking his third carry of the drive four yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Radcliff, who ran 21 times for 67 yards, let out a scream as his teammates surrounded him.

"Going into the game, we always said that we had never lost to UK and we don't plan on doing it the last game of the season," senior linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin said.

And then, in a game as wild and as weird as any these teams have ever played, it ended in perhaps the least surprising way: Gerod Holliman snapped up the game-winning interception and tied the NCAA record for interceptions in a season, with 14.

"It feels really good," the smiling Holliman said, "especially against Kentucky."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).​