Kentucky seniors with the Governor's Trophy after UK's fourth straight win over the Cardinals. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky’s win over Louisville Saturday was basically a blueprint of what coach Mark Stoops and UK fans had hoped the 2022 season was going to be. Kentucky beat the Cardinals 26-13 to end regular-season play 7-5, not exactly what the coaches and players were hoping for when the season started and they hoped to challenge Georgia for the SEC Eastern Division title.
However, the Cats did things against Louisville that if they had done in some other games, the record would have been much better than 7-5.
— Special teams play has been a disaster way too much this season. Bad snaps, bad holds, bad kicks. Kentucky had broken some big returns but the overall kicking game had been a disappointment.
But against the Cardinals, kicker Matt Ruffolo made field goals of 43, 29, 35 and 40 yards. He was 4-for-4 and looked like the kicker he was last season when he was very good. Granted, Ruffolo’s kicks came when the Cats could not score touchdowns that would have turned the game into a rout but at least the Cats got some points when drives stalled instead of leaving the red zone empty.
Ruffolo was even named the game’s MVP, the first kicker ever to win that award in this game.
“It feels good because to be completely honest it has not been the best year but to end on that note going 4-for-4 and perfect on extra points it feels really good, and it always feels really good against them,” Ruffolo said.
“They told me I was the first kicker to win that award. It just means a lot as the field goal unit with my long snapper Cade McGraw and my holder Chance Poore and all the line to end on that performance. They gave it (MVP) to me, but it is really for all of us.”
— The Cats forced three turnovers and did not give the ball away a single time. Jordan Lovett and Trevin Wallace both had interceptions while JJ Weaver had a strip and scoop that almost resulted in a touchdown.
“We were just trying to get our pash rush back up. It was just effort, we have been doing that all year, getting to the quarterback is our job,” Weaver, who had seven tackles and one pass breakup, said. “We had great plays. Coach (Brad) White’s game plan was amazing so we just followed him and listened to him and executed the plays.”
— Chris Rodriguez was at his best running for 120 yards on 24 carries. Late in the game when the Cats were trying to burn the clock he gained 20, 6 and 5 years on consecutive plays to help kill the clock — something the Cats had not been able to do in certain games this year.
— Quarterback Will Levis scored early in the game on a short run but the touchdown was wiped out by a penalty. However, rather than let that ruin the drive, Levis threw a scoring pass to freshman Dane Key. It was the kind of mistake UK had not been able to overcome in some games.
— The tight ends made big plays. True freshman Josh Kattus had a 66-yard reception and two catches for 76 yards. Redshirt freshman Jordan Dingle had an 18-yard catch. They both continue to show terrific potential for the next three years and UK seems to finally have figured out how to keep them involved in the passing game.
— Levis was 11 of 19 passing for 188 yards and two scores. He didn’t throw an interception and made better, more consistent reads than he has at times. He was also able to run a few times and even though he didn’t break big runs like he did against Louisville last year, just the fact he was healthy enough to at least try to run makes a defense have to be more honest.
— Finally, the UK offensive line was more physical and effective than it had been most of the season. Maybe playing against an ACC opponent instead of a SEC foe had something to do with that but once Kentucky got the lead, it made it much easier for Stoops to rely on his defense and running game like the coach always prefers.
“I mean, they just kept running the ball, just killing the clock out,” Louisville defensive back Josh Dinkins said. “They really didn’t throw the ball as much as we expected them to, but they just kept running the ball. It’s kind of hard to get turnovers unless you just get a fumble, but they were conservative with the ball.”
Stoops said UK got “effective yards” (UK ran 42 times for 158 yards) that might not have looked overwhelming but got the job done.
“If you’re rushing it that many times it means you’re getting some effective yards, and you’re keeping those chains moving and playing for field position and things of that nature. Playing to win the game however you have to, so that was good to see,” he said.
Really, just winning was all that mattered. Kentucky had already lost at home to South Carolina and Vanderbilt. It was routed at Tennessee. Ending the regular season with a loss at home to Louisville would have been deflating.
“I know it’s important to this state, important to our football players and our staff, and I just really appreciate the way they dug in and competed and finished the season,” Stoops said.
Photos – Vicky Graff
