Jump to content

Governor's Cup (Kentucky)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kentucky–Louisville football rivalry
SportFootball
First meetingOctober 26, 1912
Kentucky, 41–0
Latest meetingNovember 30, 2024
Louisville, 41–14
Next meetingNovember 29, 2025
at Louisville
StadiumsKentucky – Kroger Field
Louisville – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
TrophyThe Governor's Cup
Statistics
Meetings total36
All-time seriesKentucky leads, 19–16
Largest victoryKentucky, 73–0 (1922)
Longest win streakKentucky, 7 (1912–1994)
Current win streakLouisville, 1 (2024–present)
Locations of Kentucky and Louisville

The Governor's Cup is a trophy awarded to the victor of the annual college football game between the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville in the commonwealth of Kentucky; it is also used as a reference to the rivalry itself.[1]

History

[edit]

Though the teams first played in 1912,[1] they only played six times until the rivalry was suspended after the 1924 season and wasn't renewed for another 70 years. The rivalry resumed in 1994 with a new Governor's Cup trophy which has been awarded every year since.

Kentucky leads the series 19–16.[1] Since the modern series started in 1994, Louisville leads 16–13. From 1994 to 2006, the game was played on the opening weekend of the college football season. In 2007, the game was moved to the third game of the season when played in Lexington but remained the first game when played in Louisville. Starting in 2014, which marked Louisville's inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Governor's Cup became the last game of the regular season for both teams on Thanksgiving weekend,[2] which coincided with several other ACC-SEC same-state rivalries.[3]

Because the Southeastern Conference, of which Kentucky is a member, decided to play a conference-only schedule for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the Governor's Cup game was canceled.[4] The rivalry will continue until at least the 2030 season with Kentucky hosting in even years and Louisville hosting in odd years.[5]

Notable games

[edit]

September 2, 2000: In the only overtime game in series history, Louisville outlasted Kentucky to win 40–34. A walk-off touchdown from running back Tony Stallings would seal the game for the Cardinals.[6]

November 26, 2016: Kentucky upsets #11 Louisville in a shootout. Kentucky recovered a fumble by Heisman candidate Lamar Jackson with 1:45 to go in the game. Kentucky would kick a field goal to win the game 41–38.[7] Lamar Jackson would go on to the win the Heisman Trophy.[8]

November 25, 2023: Kentucky upsets #10 Louisville. Louisville was the 7.5 point favorite. This game extends Kentucky's win streak to 5 in a row and 6 of the last 7 meetings. [9]

Game results

[edit]
Kentucky victoriesLouisville victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationScore
1 October 26, 1912 Lexington, KY Kentucky 41–0
2 November 22, 1913 Louisville, KY Kentucky 20–0
3 November 14, 1914 Lexington, KY Kentucky 42–0
4 November 6, 1915 Louisville, KY Kentucky 15–0
5 October 14, 1922 Lexington, KY Kentucky 73–0
6 October 4, 1924 Lexington, KY Kentucky 29–0
7 September 3, 1994 Lexington, KY Kentucky 20–14
8 September 2, 1995 Lexington, KY Louisville 13–10
9 August 31, 1996 Lexington, KY Louisville 38–14
10 August 30, 1997 Lexington, KY Kentucky 38–24
11 September 5, 1998 Louisville, KY Kentucky 68–34
12 September 4, 1999 Lexington, KY Louisville 56–28
13 September 2, 2000 Louisville, KY Louisville 40–34OT
14 September 1, 2001 Lexington, KY Louisville 36–10
15 September 1, 2002 Louisville, KY Kentucky 22–17
16 August 31, 2003 Lexington, KY Louisville 40–24
17 September 5, 2004 Louisville, KY Louisville 28–0
18 September 4, 2005 Lexington, KY #12 Louisville 31–24
19 September 3, 2006 Louisville, KY #13 Louisville 59–28
No.DateLocationScore
20 September 15, 2007 Lexington, KY Kentucky 40–34
21 August 31, 2008 Louisville, KY Kentucky 27–2
22 September 19, 2009 Lexington, KY Kentucky 31–27
23 September 4, 2010 Louisville, KY Kentucky 23–16
24 September 17, 2011 Lexington, KY Louisville 24–17
25 September 2, 2012 Louisville, KY #25 Louisville 32–14
26 September 14, 2013 Lexington, KY #7 Louisville 27–13
27 November 29, 2014 Louisville, KY #22 Louisville 44–40
28 November 28, 2015 Lexington, KY Louisville 38–24
29 November 26, 2016 Louisville, KY Kentucky 41–38
30 November 25, 2017 Lexington, KY Louisville 44–17
31 November 24, 2018 Louisville, KY #15 Kentucky 56–10
32 November 30, 2019 Lexington, KY Kentucky 45–13
33 November 27, 2021 Louisville, KY #25 Kentucky 52–21
34 November 26, 2022 Lexington, KY Kentucky 26–13
35 November 25, 2023 Louisville, KY Kentucky 38–31
36 November 30, 2024 Lexington, KY Louisville 41–14
Series: Kentucky leads 19–16[10]
*Kentucky vacated all 2021 wins in August 2024.[11]

Howard Schnellenberger Award

[edit]

The 2010 game was the inaugural year for the award. The award is given to the Most Valuable Player on the winning team by the Louisville Sports Commission. It is named for Howard Schnellenberger, who played under Bear Bryant for Kentucky and was Louisville's head coach when the modern football rivalry began in 1994.

Date Player Team Position Statistics References
September 4, 2010 Derrick Locke Kentucky RB 23 carries, 104 yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 21 yards; 1 kickoff return, 23 yards [12]
September 17, 2011 Dexter Heyman Louisville LB 12 tackles & 1 forced fumble [13]
September 2, 2012 Teddy Bridgewater Louisville QB 19/21, 232 yards [14]
September 14, 2013 Teddy Bridgewater Louisville QB 16/28, 250 yards, 1 TD
November 29, 2014 DeVante Parker Louisville WR 6 catches, 180 yards, 3 TD
November 28, 2015 Lamar Jackson Louisville QB 8/21, 130 yards, 1 TD; 17 carries, 186 yards, 2 TDs
November 26, 2016 Stephen Johnson Kentucky QB 16/27, 338 yards, 3 TDs; 8 carries, 83 yards [15]
November 25, 2017 Lamar Jackson Louisville QB 15/21, 216 yards, 2 TDs; 18 carries, 156 yards
November 24, 2018 Terry Wilson Kentucky QB 17/23, 261 yards, 3 TDs; 10 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD [16]
November 30, 2019 Lynn Bowden Kentucky QB 1/2, 4 yards; 22 carries, 284 yards, 4 TDs [17]
November 27, 2021 Will Levis Kentucky QB 14/18, 149 yards; 14 carries, 113 yards, 4 TDs [18]
November 26, 2022 Matt Ruffolo Kentucky K 4–4 FG 43 Long, 2–2 PAT
November 25, 2023 J. J. Weaver Kentucky LB 2 fumble recoveries, 8 solo tackles, 1 sack [19]
November 30, 2024 Isaac Brown Louisville RB 26 carries, 178 yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 12 yards [20]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats – Recap – September 17, 2011". ESPN. September 17, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2021.[dead link]
  2. ^ Mallory, Laurel (August 21, 2013). "Governor's Cup moved to last game of season starting 2014 – wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather & Sports". Wave3.com. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  3. ^ "Louisville vs. Kentucky Governor's Cup football series extended through 2022". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Robinson, Cameron Teague; Hal, Jon (July 30, 2020). "Governor's Cup put on hold after SEC goes with conference-only scheduling model". Courier Journal. Louisville. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  5. ^ Hale, Jon. "In response to 2020 cancellation, Kentucky-Louisville agree to extend football rivalry". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  6. ^ Black, Ryan (November 21, 2023). "5 memorable games between Louisville and Kentucky since the Governor's Cup rivalry resumed". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  7. ^ "Kentucky beats No. 11 Louisville 41–38 after Jackson fumble". ESPN. November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  8. ^ "HEISMAN TROPHY WINNERS LIST". Heisman.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  9. ^ "Ray Davis has 3 TDs, Kentucky tops No. 9 Louisville 38–31 to win fifth consecutive Governor's Cup". ESPN. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Winsipedia – Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals football series history". Winsipedia.
  11. ^ "Kentucky will vacate wins as NCAA investigation finds football players received 'impermissible benefits'". August 2, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – September 04, 2010". ESPN. September 4, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  13. ^ [1] Archived March 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "UofL QB Teddy Bridgewater earns Howard Schnellenberger MVP award | WHAS11.com Louisville". Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  15. ^ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – November 26, 2016". ESPN. November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.[dead link]
  16. ^ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – November 24, 2018". ESPN. November 30, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  17. ^ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – November 30, 2019". ESPN. November 30, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  18. ^ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – November 27, 2021". ESPN. November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2016.[dead link]
  19. ^ "J.J. WEAVER EARNS 14TH ANNUAL HOWARD SCHNELLENBERGER MVP AWARD". LouisvilleSports.org. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  20. ^ McGavic, Matthew (November 30, 2024). "Louisville RB Isaac Brown Wins Howard Schnellenberger Award". Louisville Cardinals On SI. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 30, 2024.