Kentucky Embarrassed in 41-14 Loss to Louisville

The worst Kentucky football season in more than a decade ended in embarrassing fashion. The Wildcats’ five-game win streak over Louisville was snapped in a 41-14 loss, capping off a 4-8 season where Kentucky did not beat a power conference team at home.

Things went sideways in a hurry. The Kentucky offensive line opened up a couple of nice running lanes for Jamarion Wilcox, one of which looked destined to be an explosive touchdown. Instead, he had the ball pulled from his hands in one of the most bizarre turnovers you’ll ever see. It was a sign of what was to come.

True freshman quarterback Cutter Boley looked like a true freshman in his first start. He threw two interceptions, one in the end zone, and only completed 6-15 passes for 48 yards.

Boley exited the game in the third quarter after taking a shot to the head on a Louisville targeting penalty. Gavin Wimsatt made two big plays to Ja’Mori Maclin to get the Cats on the scoreboard and put a little pressure on the Cards. It didn’t last for long.

Kentucky could have driven down the field and made it a one-score game. Instead, Wilcox fumbled the ball and it was scooped up by Ramon Puryear for a touchdown.

The 2024 Kentucky football season was an unmitigated disaster, but this game could have provided a light at the end of the tunnel. Beating your rival doesn’t erase all of the losses, but quality performances by freshmen in a victory provided a path to offseason optimism. The exact opposite thing happened and Louisville boat-raced Kentucky, setting the table for a dreadful offseason for Big Blue Nation.

The First Half Kentucky Drive Chart

Aside from a 29-yard pass to Hardley Gilmore, there was nothing positive you could say about the Kentucky offense. The Cats had five first downs and five punts. Gross.

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Louisville Ran All Over Kentucky

As we discussed entering the game, the Kentucky rush defense has not been the same since D’Eryk Jackson underwent season-ending surgery. Multiple opponents racked up career-highs against the Cats. Even though Tyler Shough has been impressive this season, Louisville was ready to run it right at Kentucky.

Shough only threw for 128 yards and he didn’t complete a pass to leading receiver Ja’Corey Brooks. He just handed the ball off to Isaac Brown and Duke Watson and let them do all of the heavy lifting. The Cards rushed for 300+ yards. Watson had 104 and two touchdowns on only six carries, while Brown picked up 178 yards and two scores.

One Good Thing from the Game

There are not many good things you can say about the Kentucky football performance. It was kinda cool to see Wimsatt throw it up to Maclin. The North Texas transfer didn’t do much in 2024, but when Wimsatt was in the game, the two connected on deep balls. He got one at Tennessee to set up a score and did the same thing today against Louisville. They did it not once, but twice, scoring late in the fourth quarter for an 83-yard touchdown. Maclin had three receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

.@GavinWimsatt DOT ➡️ @routerunner9 TD

📺 – SEC Network pic.twitter.com/kkuOGp4STL

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) November 30, 2024

Kentucky vs. Louisville Box Score