Saturday evening will mark the 33rd occasion of the Governor's Cup football rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville.
At stake for the Wildcats is a chance at nine regular season wins, which would tie Mark Stoops' best record, as well as an opportunity at a Florida bowl game.
Here are Take Two-styled predictions from Cats Illustrated writers Jeff Drummond and Justin Rowland.
What are you most interested to see in tonight's game?
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Drummond: The key to Kentucky’s recent success in the Governor’s Cup rivalry has been the line of scrimmage, so I’m interested to see if the Big Blue Wall can impose its will on the smaller Louisville defensive front again this year. The Cats’ best defense in this matchup might be its ability to keep Malik Cunningham watching from the sideline, so if the UK offense can dominate time of possession, it bodes well for Mark Stoops & Co.
Rowland: I think we have a pretty good idea of what to look out for by this point. It's just a matter of what's going to happen. Kentucky is the better team when it is not turning the ball over. Louisville has been 17 turnovers better than Kentucky through 11 games. The Wildcats need to be no worse than -1 in the turnover margin. Going on the road against an amped up opponent, you can't give away possessions. If Kentucky protects the ball, I think they win.
The only other question is how many yards Malik Cunningham rushes for. He's going to get some of his yards, but Kentucky has to contain him. The other guys for Louisville don't necessarily scare you too much but he's someone who can tip the game.
Who is your pick for Kentucky's MVP?
Drummond: Will Levis, Kentucky - While I’m looking for the Cats to win this with a ground-and-pound approach, Levis will certainly have to make some big plays along the way. There’s been much discussion about Malik Cunningham’s running ability in the week leading up to the game, but the Cats also have a QB who can extend plays with his legs. I’m looking for a couple of big ones from Levis.
Rowland: Chris Rodriguez. We've heard offensive coordinator Liam Coen say this week that physicality is going to be important. I can't imagine Kentucky's coaches aren't going to be looking at recent games between these teams and even this year's action and not preparing to give Rodriguez a lot of touches. If he holds onto the ball he can be the difference in the game for the 'Cats.
What's your prediction for the game's final score?
Drummond: Kentucky 34, Louisville 26 — The Cards have improved from what we expected to see when the see when the season started, but the Cats still have the better personnel along the line of scrimmage. If UK can hang onto the football and keep the turnover margin no worse than -1 — a big IF, given what we’ve seen at times this season — it should be a win for Big Blue. The Cup stays in Lexington.
Rowland: Kentucky 38, Louisville 35. This one feels like a shootout to me. The offenses are going to be the best units on the field. The quarterbacks have done a lot of impressive things lately. I like Stoops' record in close games and how the Cats have attacked this game the last two times it has been played. Kentucky has not made things easy for itself with turnovers so I have to assume it will be close but I think they've got better players.
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