Home > News > College Football > SEC Kickoff: Everything you need to know about Kentucky at Louisville

SEC Kickoff: Everything you need to know about Kentucky at Louisville

Published: Nov 29, 2014 · 8:30 AM EST

Here’s everything you need to know about Kentucky’s season finale at Louisville:

When: Today
Where: Louisville, Ky.,
Game Time: 12 p.m. EST
TV: ESPN2
Current Line: Kentucky (-13)

Game Buzz: Kentucky and Louisville will play for the Governor’s Cup in the 26th all-time meeting between the two programs. The Cardinals have defeated the Wildcats in each of the last three seasons, including a 27-13 win last season. Kentucky holds a 14-12 advantage in the all-time series, although Louisville is 12-8 in the modern series. The Wildcats look to secure bowl eligibility and end a five-game losing streak that began on Oct. 18 against LSU. The game also marks the return of Louisville coach Bobby Petrino, who went 4-0 against Kentucky during his previous tenure from 2003-06. Kentucky won four consecutive games after Petrino left the program.

Saturday Down South previews

KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Players to watch:

QB Patrick Towles
RB Stanley “Boom” Williams
WR Ryan Timmons
WR Javess Blue
DE/LB Alvin “Bud” Dupree
LB Josh Forrest
DB A.J. Stamps
DB Marcus McWilson

Keys for Kentucky:

Towles must be efficient: Towles needs to have a strong performance for Kentucky to secure bowl eligibility. The Wildcats are 4-1 when Towles has thrown for over 200 yards and 2-1 when he’s thrown multiple touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore saw career-highs in passing (390 yards) and rushing (76) against then-No. 1 Mississippi State, keeping overmatched Kentucky in contention through four quarters.
Pressure from Bud Dupree: Alvin “Bud” Dupree has enjoyed a stellar career in Lexington. The senior has 31 career sacks in four seasons and leads Kentucky with 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss through 11 games. Dupree must pressure Louisville in the backfield and halt plays at the line of scrimmage.
Force Reggie Bonnafon to make freshman mistakes: Bonnafon has 842 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions on 59-of-113 passing. The freshman shared snaps with starter Will Gardner throughout the season prior to Gardner’s season-ending injury. Kentucky’s secondary must force Bonnafon to make mistakes and avoid allowing big passing plays. A.J. Stamps and Marcus McWilson need to provide solid coverage and add to their combined six interceptions.

Most interesting Part of the Game: Can Kentucky avoid a monumental collapse and earn bowl eligibility?

Team Buzz: The Wildcats opened the 2014 season with a 5-1 record through six games. Since then, Kentucky has looked incapable of capturing a victory against SEC teams. The Wildcats are stuck in a five-game losing skid and in danger of missing a bowl game for the fourth consecutive season.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

Players to watch:

QB Reggie Bonnafon
RB Brandon Radcliff
WR DeVante Parker
DE Lorenzo Mauldin
DE Sheldon Rankins
DB Gerod Holliman

Keys for Louisville:

Stop Kentucky’s struggling run game: Louisville enters with the No. 3 overall rush defense. The Wildcats have been held to under 200 total rushing yards in four of five games during their losing skid. The Cardinals hold a strong advantage and should keep Kentucky’s run game from seeing a strong performance.
Pressure in the backfield: The Cardinals have 36 sacks and 81 tackles for loss. Louisville has four players with at least nine TFLs: Lorenzo Mauldin (13.0), Sheldon Rankins (12.0), James Burgess (9.5) and Deiontrez Mount (9.0). Rankins and Mauldin have combined for 11.5 sacks and should bring constant pressure to Towles, as well as the Wildcats’ running backs.
Holliman vs. Towles: Kentucky will need to have a pass-heavy offense facing Louisville’s top-3 rush defense. Fortunately for the Cardinals, Gerod Holliman has been a ball hawk all season. He leads the FBS with 13 interceptions and will look to add to his totals facing the struggling Wildcats offense.

Most interesting part of the game: Will Petrino continue his dominance over Kentucky during his second tenure at Louisville?

Team Buzz: Louisville enters Saturday’s game with back-to-back road wins against Boston College and Notre Dame. The Cardinals can end the season as a top-25 team with a win on Saturday.

Jason Hall

A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky