BEST PLAY: Stevie Got Loose (2007)

Remember what we said about the 2007 game? If there was ever a place to work that game into this history lesson, it’s here at Best Play. The play, of course, is Stevie Got Loose, the famous touchdown pass from Andre Woodson to Stevie Johnson for a 57-yard go-ahead touchdown with less than one minute remaining in the fourth quarter.

Kentucky regained possession trailing 34-33 with 1:45 remaining and began working its way up the field with short, conservative passes. UK only needed a field goal to win, but upon facing 1st and 21 on its own 43 yard line, Kentucky got much, much more.

Louisville’s secondary blew a coverage and let Johnson streak down the sideline virtually uncovered. Woodson didn’t miss his opportunity, dropping a gorgeous pass right into Johnson’s arms as he ran for the end zone. Louisville was ranked in the top 10 in the nation at the time; UK was unranked and had just won its first bowl game in 22 years the season before.

The win vaulted UK into the national polls and turned Johnson into a Kentucky legend. Check out the famous play below:

BEST GAME: Cobb for the Win (2009)

Many would argue the 2007 affair between UK and U of L was the best game in the last decade of this series, but that game qualifies for nearly every category in this rivalry rundown. In an effort to capture more of the Governor’s Cup’s recent history, we went with the 2009 showdown between the Cats and Cards, yet another game decided by seven points or fewer.

This game went back and forth from the start. By the time UK regained possession midway through the fourth quarter trailing 27-24, there had already been six lead changes on the day. Spoiler alert, but Kentucky would make it seven.

The Cats were forced to punt, but recovered a fumble on the punt and actually improved their field position dramatically, taking over inside Louisville’s 30 yard line. Three plays later, Mike Hartline found Randall Cobb for a 12-yard touchdown to give UK a 31-27 lead it would not relinquish. The win was UK’s third in a row against Louisville, and it would spark UK’s fourth consecutive bowl-eligible season.

LONGEST STREAK: UK’s rise and fall (won four, lost four)

In the last eight years, each school in this rivalry claims a four-year win streak against one another. After losing to Louisville in 2005 and 2006, UK won four straight games against the Cardinals from 2007-10. It won three of those games by a combined 17 points, but its best win came in 2008 when it topped Louisville 27-2 in a rout.

Louisville has returned the favor the last four years, winning four straight by an average of close to 11 points per game (and that average was brought down by last year’s 44-40 thriller in Papa John’s Stadium). While the Cats reached four straight bowl games during their win streak against Louisville, they failed to reach a bowl in each of the last four seasons while Louisville won four straight of its own.

Nevertheless, UK maintains a 14-13 lead in the all-time series (which featured a 70-year hiatus from 1924-94), but the Cardinals have won 13 of 21 games since the series resumed.

BIGGEST TURNING POINT: L’ville outlasts the Cats (2011)

Perhaps the biggest turning point in the series’ recent history came in 2011, when Kentucky’s four game win streak came to an end and its four-game losing streak began.

The Wildcats trailed by 14 points in the fourth quarter, but cut that lead in half with a touchdown toss from Morgan Newton to E.J. Fields with around 5 minutes to play. After forcing Louisville into a 3 and out, Kentucky regained possession once again and began driving the field for the game-tying score.

The Cats got as far as Louisville’s 18 yard line, and it felt as though momentum was swinging into UK’s favor. However, the Cards broke up a pass from Newton to La’Rod King on a 4th and 6 play to force a turnover on downs and put a stop to UK’s four-year run of success in the in-state rivalry. Kentucky hasn’t defeated Louisville on the gridiron again since that game took place.

BEST PLAYER: Randall Cobb

Cobb is easily UK’s best player of the last 10 years, and he always rose to the occasion when it came to facing Louisville. In three meetings with the Cardinals from 2008-10, Cobb led the Cats in catches and yards twice, and as eluded to above he caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the 2009 showdown. Most importantly, he was 3-0 in his career against the Cardinals.

SWEETEST REVENGE: 2007

In 2006, Louisville handed Kentucky a humiliating 31-point loss to reassert its dominance in the rivalry at the time. The Cards were ranked 13th in the nation, while Kentucky was unranked and hadn’t reached a bowl game in seven years (it would end that drought at the end of the 2006 season).

U of L had won by at least 16 points in 2003 and 2004, and when it handed UK a 59-28 beatdown in 2006 it was clear the Cardinals were the cream of the crop in the commonwealth.

However, 2007 was the year Stevie Got Loose, meaning not only did Kentucky get payback, but it did so in dramatic fashion, crushing a Louisville team with high aspirations entering the season. You’ve now seen the play and read about the game, and when you consider that win was the first of four in a row for UK, it’s the only reasonable choice for Sweetest Revenge.

GOVERNOR’S CUP RESULTS (LAST DECADE)

2005: Louisville 31, Kentucky 24

2006: Louisville 59, Kentucky 28

2007: Kentucky 40, Louisville 34

2008: Kentucky 27, Louisville 2

2009: Kentucky 31, Louisville 27

2010: Kentucky 23, Louisville 16

2011: Louisville 24, Kentucky 17

2012: Louisville 32, Kentucky 14

2013: Louisville 27, Kentucky 13

2014: Louisville 44, Kentucky 40