LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Upon trading places on the press room stage with his triumphant quarterback here Saturday night, Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen watched Will Levis leave the room and proclaimed, "I told you! I told you this man was a dawg!"
For much of the previous three hours, Levis would prove it to everyone what his OC had known for months. The Wildcats' bold signal caller put a memorable stamp on his first appearance the Governor's Cup game, passing for 149 yards, rushing for 113, and scoring four touchdowns to lead Kentucky to a 52-21 thrashing of arch-rival Louisville at Cardinal Stadium.
"All week, I could tell with the energy surrounding practice that all the guys were taking the game very seriously and what it meant to them," Levis said. "And then when we got here, just how the fans reacted to us, the hostile environment, I could tell that it was going to be a chippy game, a hard-fought game."
"He just played an exceptional football game today," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "Just throwing it, making decisions. When he ran it, he ran it so effectively, so tough. Everybody gets encouraged and fired up when you see that."
Levis' big performance was part of a 511-yard offensive night for Kentucky (9-3), which won its third straight game in the Governor's Cup series. An eye-popping 362 of those yards came on the ground, including a 121-yard effort from junior running back Chris Rodriguez to complement Levis.
Four different UK players -- Levis, Rodriguez, Kavosiey Smoke, and La'Vell Wright -- ran for a touchdown in the blowout. Meanwhile, Wan'Dale Robinson caught nine passes for 97 yards and established a new single-season reception record at UK with 94.
Kentucky scored on eight of its 10 possessions, punting only once and playing a turnover-free game.
Said Stoops: "Liam had them off-balance all night."
Louisville (6-6) entered the game with the quarterback known for making things happen with both his arm and his legs, dynamic junior Malik Cunningham, but the UK defense held the Cards' star to a modest 145 yards passing and 35 net yards rushing.
"We played a really good game on him," Stoops said.
*****
In this Rapid Recap feature, we touch on some quick hitters from the Governor's Cup clash...
GAME BALL:
Will Levis, Kentucky -- Who else? It was a nearly flawless performance for the UK quarterback who transferred from Penn State prior to the season. In addition to his 100-yard, four-touchdown rushing effort, he also completed 14 of 18 passes, barely missing a couple that could have gone for long TD strikes. He may go on to post games with even better numbers in his UK career, but none will likely produce such a lasting memory with Big Blue Nation.
BY THE NUMBERS:
7.4 - Yards per rushing attempt by the Wildcats.
10th - Time in school history that UK has won at least nine games in a regular season. (1904, 1907, 1909, 1949, 1950, 1976, 1977, 1984, 2018, and 2021)
15 - Consecutive non-conference wins for UK, the second-longest streak in the nation. Only Iowa (16) has won more.
18-15 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series against Louisville. The Cats are 9-5 in games played at Louisville.
50+ - Points scored by UK in consecutive games for the first time since the first two games of the 2007 season. The Cats scored 56 last week against New Mexico State.
153-44 - The combined score of the last three matchups between UK and UofL.
QUOTABLE:
"It pissed me off... I don't get it, but I don't care. Take a look at the score." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops on the Cats entering the game as 3-point underdogs.
UP NEXT:
The Cats await their sixth consecutive bowl invitation, which should come on Sunday, Dec. 5. Many projections have UK slated for the Outback Bowl in Tampa or the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
