LEXINGTON, Ky. — Malik Cunningham may have been in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday as part of ACC Football Media Days, but the Louisville Cardinals quarterback had an SEC school on his mind.
As quoted on WDRB.com, Cunningham vowed that U of L is prepared to turn the tables on archrival Kentucky when the battle for the Governor’s Cup plays out at Kroger Field on Nov. 26.
“The whole city, we have a chip on our shoulders so nobody counts us out,” Cunningham said. “They swear the team up the street is that much better than us, and we’re going to show that they’re not this year.”
No one should have more motivation when UK and U of L renew their annual grudge-fest than Cunningham. As Kentucky has run off a dominant three-game stretch in the Governor’s Cup rivalry, winning 56-10 (2018), 45-13 (2019) and 52-21 (2021), Cunningham has been the losing starter at QB in each of the routs.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound super-senior has joined ex-UK QB Jared Lorenzen as the only starting quarterbacks in the modern history (since 1994) of the Wildcats-Cardinals rivalry to have lost three times. Lorenzen did have a Governor’s Cup win on his ledger, though, too, directing UK to a 22-17 upset of No. 17 Louisville in the 2002 season opener.
So when the Cats and Cards throw down in 2022, Cunningham will be seeking to avoid becoming the first quarterback in the modern history of the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry to lose four times as a starter.
Though UK’s one-sided domination of U of L over the past three games means the Wildcats should be considered the clear favorite against the Cardinals until we see differently on the field, there are some reasons to think Louisville might have some hope in 2022.
The primary edge the Cats have held over the Cards since 2018 has been obvious: Physical Kentucky offensive lines have mashed overmatched Louisville defenses at the line of scrimmage. While outscoring U of L 153-44 since 2018, UK has outrushed the Cardinals by 1,219 to 579 yards.
Even that staggering disparity doesn’t tell the full level of Kentucky domination. In those three games, UK has scored a combined 17 rushing touchdowns. On 10 of those 17 TD runs, the Wildcats rusher entered the end zone literally without ever being touched by a Louisville defender.
In its three consecutive blowouts over Louisville, Kentucky has not been content with just one 100-yards-plus rusher in each game. The Wildcats have had two players with more than 100 yards on the ground in each of their wins over U of L since 2018.
However, having had five offensive linemen drafted by NFL teams since 2019, Kentucky enters 2022 with more uncertainty about the fortitude of the “Big Blue Wall” than it has had in years.
UK will be breaking in three new offensive line starters, including both tackles. The Wildcats are also shifting one of their returning regulars, Eli Cox, from guard to center.
Meanwhile, U of L hopes the arrival via the transfer portal of Jermayne Lole, the 6-2, 305-pound ex-Arizona State nose guard, will give its run defense an anchor that has been sorely lacking.
The Kentucky schedule the week prior to the Louisville game is not as favorable as it has been preceding UK’s prior three meetings with U of L. Before its last three games with the Cards, the Cats faced Middle Tennessee State (2018), Tennessee at Martin (2019) and New Mexico State (2021), respectively.
This year, UK will play SEC East titan Georgia the contest prior to U of L. If the Kentucky season goes as the Big Blue Nation hopes, that meeting with Kirby Smart’s defending national champions will be for the SEC East crown.
Even if it is not, Kentucky-Georgia contests tend to feature hyper-physical, hand-to-hand combat in the trenches. Those kind of games can leave a team with a hangover the following week. It is probably not an accident that Mark Stoops-coached UK teams are 2-7 in the week following games against Georgia.
The last time U of L beat the Cats, in 2017, it came the week after Kentucky had played at Georgia.
When he looks in the mirror, Louisville’s Cunningham can see one area in which U of L must improve substantially to play competitively against Kentucky. In his three career starts vs. UK, Cunningham has completed only 23 of 39 passes for 287 yards and run for only 151 yards combined.
Overall, Cunningham had a boffo season in 2021, throwing for 2,841 yards and 20 touchdowns while running for 1,031 yards and 20 scores.
However, in last year’s Governor’s Cup battle, Kentucky’s Will Levis was the best quarterback on the field, completing 14 of 18 passes and rushing for 113 yards and four touchdowns.
Levis will be back for another chance to turn “L’s down” in 2022. To back up his talk of closing the gap on “the team up the street,” Malik Cunningham will need to be the best QB playing at Kroger Field on Nov. 26.
