Poll: UK will beat U of L in football

University of Kentucky fan Larry Black was among the 23 percent of respondents to indicate in last week's Bluegrass Poll ballot that he wasn't sure who he thinks will win this season's UK-Louisville football game.

If asked the same question this week — after the Wildcats beat South Carolina — would Black's answer change?

"Yessir," Black, of Highview, said Wednesday.

Now he'd take the Cats.

Last week 51 percent of the 800 people interviewed in the Bluegrass Poll — conducted by SurveyUSA for The Courier-Journal and three other news outlets —were already leaning in Big Blue's favor. The Cardinals were backed by 27 percent in the poll, which was conducted Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent on the football question.

And that was before the Wildcats (4-1) came back to stun South Carolina 45-38 on Saturday.

In the poll, the only area of the state that favored the Cards, naturally, was Louisville, which favored U of L 44 percent to 36 percent (with 20 percent of respondents not sure).

"I didn't give much thought to it when they asked the question. I'm a U of L fan. That's it," said Lee Demaree of Louisville. "UK looked good (against South Carolina) from what I saw. Am I worried? No."

But some UK fans are not totally convinced the Cats have turned the corner, including Luther White of London. White voted that U of L will win the Nov. 29 matchup at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and said his opinion hasn't changed.

"I'm very hopeful," he said. "I was hopeful when they played Florida after the disastrous years we've had. To win three games seemed to be a treat. These guys are determined, I believe.

"But it's more psychological with me, I guess. … Louisville wins more. It's like going to the casino. The house wins most of the time."

Jonathan Lintner can be reached at (502) 582-4199. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanLintner.