Matchup Breakdown: Kentucky offense vs. No. 3 overall Louisville rush defense
The Kentucky Wildcats (5-6, 2-6 SEC) face the No. 24 Louisville Cardinals (8-3, 5-3 ACC) on Saturday at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The Wildcats look to end their five-game losing streak and secure bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010. The Cardinals are coming off back-to-back wins against Boston College and Notre Dame..
Louisville enters with the No. 3 overall rush defense and is averaging 88.5 yards allowed per game. The Cardinals have held every opponent to under 200 total rushing yards and have six games of under 100 rushing yards allowed. Louisville’s highest rushing total allowed came against defending national champion Florida State (173) on Oct. 30.
The Cardinals have 81 tackles for loss, ranking No. 20 overall. Louisville has four players with at least nine TFLs: Lorenzo Maudtin (13.0), Sheldon Rankins (12.0), James Burgess (9.5) and Deiontrez Mount (9.0).
Kentucky is averaging 116.4 yards per game during their losing streak. The Wildcats been held under 200 yards in four of its last five games.
In Week 12, Kentucky totaled 94 yards in their Week 12 loss to Tennessee. They continued their season long roulette at running back with several players seeing single-digit carries. Only quarterback Patrick Towles had over 10 rushing attempts, leading the Wildcats with 29 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Head coach Mark Stoops needs to take advantage of the scouting report and focus on a pass-heavy attack on Saturday. Louisville has a balanced defense that will challenge the Kentucky passing attack, but its rush defense is its strongest attribute.
The Wildcats’ best chance is to beat the Cardinals through the air. Kentucky is 4-1 when Towles has thrown for over 200 yards and 2-1 when he’s thrown multiple touchdowns. Towles must provide an efficient passing performance for the Wildcats to secure bowl eligibility.