Kentucky football opens as slight favorite against Louisville

At the beginning of the 2022 season, the end-of-schedule showdown against in-state rival Louisville was widely viewed as an automatic win for Kentucky football. Now just six days from kickoff, it feels like the final score could swing either way.

The folks in Las Vegas seem to agree, too. On Sunday afternoon, the opening betting lines for next weekend’s Week 13 slate of college football games were released, per Circa Sports. Kentucky (6-5) is tabbed as a 3-point favorite to take down Louisville (7-4) when the two meet on Saturday at Kroger Field. The over/under has been set at 42.5. The Caesars Sportsbook has UK listed as a 4-point favorite.

Kentucky is coming off a tighter-than-expected 16-6 loss to No. 1 ranked Georgia on Saturday. Louisville beat No. 24 NC State 25-10 the same day and has now won five of its last six.

College Football 🏈
Week 13 Opening Lines

Opening App Limits: $10K Sides, $2K Totals pic.twitter.com/qJRVWXM2jm

— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) November 20, 2022

According to ESPN’s Analytics, it’s the Cardinals, not the Wildcats, that have the advantage. Louisville holds a winning percentage of 56.0 compared to just 44.0 percent for Kentucky. UK is 4-3-0 against the spread this season as the home team while UL is 2-1-0 against the spread as the away underdog. On the year, both programs are 7-4-0 against the spread.

Kentucky has won the Governor’s Cup 18 times since its inception, which dates all the way back to 1912 and became an annual matchup starting in 1994, compared to 15 for Louisville. UK has won four of the last five meetings, taking the previous three outings by a combined score of 153-44.

What do we think, BBN? Too high or too low?