LEXINGTON — Two days after Thanksgiving, Louisville QB Lamar Jackson cooked up a dish of revenge for his in-state rival. A year before, Kentucky defeated Jackson and the then- No. 11 Louisville Cardinals 41-38 for the biggest victory of Mark Stoops’s tenure in Lexington.

Given a year to stew over the loss, the defending Heisman Trophy winner reciprocated in kind this afternoon at Kroger Field, spoiling Kentucky’s senior day with a 44-17 victory to end the regular season for both teams.

For the second consecutive week, Kentucky’s woeful defense struggled to get off the field. In fact, Kentucky did not stop Louisville in the first half, allowing four touchdowns and a field goal. Louisville’s Reggie Bonnafon scored first on an 18-yard run that gave Louisville a lead it would not relinquish.

After another rushing touchdown, Kentucky scored on a 2-yard touchdown run by Benny Snell, which drew the Wildcats to 14-7 with 2:30 to go in the opening stanza. Louisville answered with a field goal and a pair of touchdowns, the last a 29-yard pass to Dez Fitzpatrick from Jackson with seconds to play in the first half, and the rout was on.

As has been the case many times during the 2017 season, Snell was the highpoint for Kentucky, capping his outstanding sophomore season with his seventh 100-yard game. QB Stephen Johnson was rarely comfortable. A year after outplaying Jackson, Johnson struggled, failing to complete a pass until late in the second quarter.

On the other side, the Kentucky defense did little to ruffle Jackson, who passed for 216 yards and two scores and ran for another 156. Aside from a sideline brawl in the middle of the first quarter, the Kentucky defense showed little fight. On one memorable play, Jackson chose between two wide open receivers, but guided his intended target into the goal post, which caused him to drop the ball.

After opening the season 5-1, Kentucky struggled down the stretch, getting bombarded by Mississippi State, Georgia and Louisville, ultimately falling to 7-5, an identical record to 2016.

The Wildcats will await a bowl bid from the SEC’s, with a Liberty Bowl appearance in Memphis considered likely by sources close to the program. That game pits an SEC team against a Big 12 foe. Kentucky last appeared in the Liberty Bowl following the 2008 regular season, and defeated East Carolina 25-19 in the game.