Governor's Cup National Predictions, Presented by FanDuel

Well, here goes nothing. After a complete meltdown in the back half of the regular season, Kentucky now has one final shot to salvage things ever-so-slightly. The Wildcats will just have to do it against their bitter in-state rival, who still happens to have an outside shot at the College Football Playoff with a win and the ACC Championship crown. It’s the Governor’s Cup, No. 9 Louisville set to host Mark Stoops and the Cats inside L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.

If Kentucky is going to avoid six losses in the team’s final seven games, it will have to do it as a 7.5-point underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook — our new partner here at KentuckySportsRadio.com. Be sure to head to FanDuel.com/kysports where new customers get $150 in BONUS BETS with any winning $5 moneyline bet.

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Fans on both sides obviously feel a certain way about this matchup. Louisville needs it to maintain national relevance entering the postseason and end a four-game losing streak in the rivalry series. Kentucky needs it to avoid the most disappointing season of the Stoops era and maintain control of the state.

How will it unfold? Let’s check in with the national analysts and outlets to get their respective takes.

Rece Davis picks the Cards to cover

College GameDay host Rece Davis believes Louisville is undoubtedly the better team in the in-state battle. Significantly better, at that.

“I’m going with Louisville to cover.” Davis said. “Kentucky’s lost five out of six. They’ve gotten blasted by the upper echelon teams that they’ve played. I don’t know if you would consider Tennessee upper echelon, but they only lost to them by six. Everybody else has blown them out that’s been good. I don’t think Louisville is of the ilk of Georgia and Alabama, or Missouri – maybe close to Missouri. But I think they’re significantly better than Kentucky.”

Scott Van Pelt likes the Cats at +7.5

ESPN host Scott Van Pelt isn’t as confident in a potential blowout in Louisville’s favor, predicting a one-score game, at minimum. He’s picking Kentucky to cover at +7.5.

Who is interested in 9 ‘dogs this final full CFB weekend? Show of hands? Not a single human. I get it. “Winners” lines from ⁦@ESPNBet⁩

TCU + 9 1/2
Arkansas + 9
Kentucky + 7 1/2
Arizona State + 11
Auburn + 13
Florida + 6 1/2
Georgia Tech + 24
Cincinnati + 7
Nevada + 11 pic.twitter.com/25Rl2IzCLa

— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) November 24, 2023

A mixed bag among the CBS Sports panel

What does the CBS Sports football crew have to say about the rivalry matchup? A lot of Louisville love.

• Dennis Dodd (Senior Writer) — Louisville -7
• Tom Fornelli (Writer) — Louisville -7
• Chip Patterson (Writer) — Louisville -7
• Barrett Sallee (Writer) — Louisville -7
• Shehan Jeyarajah (Writer) — Louisville -7
• David Cobb (Writer) — Kentucky +7
• Jerry Palm (Bracketologist) — Kentucky +7

Pro Football Focus predicts Louisville to remain in CFP hunt

PFF believes Louisville is “the biggest surprise in college football this season” and is picking the Cardinals to cover in the form of a 30-21 victory.

“Louisville keeps its playoff dreams alive,” the outlet says.

The Cardinals entered the season unranked in Jeff Brohm’s first year as head coach with a preseason win total of eight games. They’ve already passed that with a 9-1 record and are now a top-10 team in the nation.

The College Football Playoff isn’t so far-fetched for Louisville either. It’ll face Kentucky this week before taking on Florida State in the ACC Championship Game, who’s now without star quarterback Jordan Travis. If the Cardinals go 12-1, they may only need a Texas loss in the next two weeks to sneak into the final four.

PFF

Bleacher Report expects four-game winning streak to end

Another Louisville cover over at Bleacher Report.

Kentucky hasn’t surpassed 300 yards in three straight games, and the strength of Louisville’s team is he defense. Not a great pairing for UK, which may relinquish its four-game winning streak in the series.

Prediction: Louisville 26, Kentucky 16

Sporting News likes the Cats to cover in tight loss

Sporting News isn’t predicting a Kentucky win, but they do like the Cats to cover.

Louisville clinched a trip to the ACC championship. Now, Jeff Brohm could put the finishing touch on a brilliant regular season with a victory against Kentucky. The Wildcats have won four in a row in the series. Kentucky has lost five of six games, but this is one of those classic records-don’t-matter-events. 

Pick: Louisville wins 27-24 but FAILS TO COVER the spread. 

Athlon Sports

Athlon Sports

• Steve Lassan — Louisville
• Joe Vitale — Kentucky
• Luke Easterling — Louisville

New York Post

The ACC Championship-bound Cardinals’ dominance at home is well-documented. The Wildcats have won one of their past six games. It’s safe to say that Kentucky’s four-game winning streak by double-digits in this series should end.

NY Post

Covers.com takes Kentucky +7.5

Another close head-to-head finish that ends in Louisville’s favor.

This game will be very competitive and will likely go back and forth throughout. While the Cardinals have been excellent at closing games out and finishing with a win, that does not necessarily mean they will cover the spread.

I ultimately like the Wildcats to cover, even if they do end up on the losing side.

Covers.com

ESPN’s Matchup Predictor

The Worldwide Leader’s analytics don’t give the Wildcats much of a shot on the road.

PicksWise names Kentucky +7.5 a “best early bet”

A good way to end this run of Louisville love? PicksWise believes in the Cats.

The Kentucky Wildcats are limping into this rivalry matchup, but don’t be fooled by their last result. The Wildcats are coming off a loss at South Carolina where they turned the ball over multiple times inside the red zone en route to a bitter 17-14 defeat. Devin Leary and company left a ton of points on the board and I think we’re getting a bit of value on this number compared to the lookahead line of +5. The Governor’s Cup series has been dominated by Kentucky historically, with 5 of the last 6 meetings having gone the way of the Wildcats, including the last 3 in Louisville by a combined score of 134 to 69.

Furthermore, the Cardinals clinched a spot in the ACC title game with a thrilling victory over Miami last Saturday, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they came out a little flat in a spot where the Wildcats should be fired up.

Let’s hope PicksWise is correct.