The sold out Commonwealth venue provided all the glitz and glamour, ups and downs a rivalry game can offer including a bizarre clock issue to end the first half. Louisville and Kentucky matched their 1-0 records in the heart of Thoroughbred Country. Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks silently pieced together a powerful team in the offseason. The Wildcats are much more lethal with the beaucoup speed instilled in the roster. The Bluegrass State’s other big conference head coach, Steve Kragthorpe has been desperately trying to fill the empty cupboard left by Bobby Petrino’s departure. Kragthorpe has dangerous weapons on offense, but must tighten up on defense.

Kentucky QB Mike Hartline managed the offense in the first half like a multi-million dollar CEO. The very balanced Wildcat offense displayed 15 rushing plays to 18 passing plays. Hartline went 15 of 18 in the first two quarters. Kentucky opened the game with a methodical 11 play, five and a half minute drive capped with a field goal.

The Cardinals countered with nine play 79 yard drive of their own. RB Victor Anderson punched in a 6 yard TD to put Louisville on top. Anderson accounted for 52 yards on the ground during the drive including a 35 yard scamper on his first carry to put Louisville close to midfield.

Kentucky returner Derrick Locke turned on the jets and took the kick-off a well-earned 100 yards for the first Wildcat TD and the lead. From this point on, the Wildcats owned the first half. They forced Louisville to two punts and halted a Cardinal 4^th down conversion deep in Kentucky territory. On offense, the Wildcats added to the lead with another drive, this time going 85 yards to make the score 17-7.

Just when Kentucky positioned themselves to score once more before the half, a world of bizzarro descended on Commonwealth Stadium. Players and coaches lost complete track of the game clock which ceased to function. The referees informed the teams that the 15:00 showing on the game clock was actually supposed to be :15. Kentucky proceeded to toss a pass for no gain and unknowingly (due to the non-existent game clock) ran out the time at the Louisville 10 yard line. The blunder cost the Wildcats at least three points.

Bizarre carried into the second half. After a big return, Louisville was held to a field goal. Then the efficient Kentucky offense that ruled the first half turned into a broken down old beater. Three Wildcat turnovers on three series in a row turned into 10 Louisville second half points. Suddenly the Cardinals took the lead in a game that appeared to be owned by Kentucky. All the loose balls turned into loose hay as the potential Kentucky blowout was ignited into a bar burner.

The next four series resulted in TDs, two apiece. With under 3:00 to play, the Cardinals drove deep into Wildcat territory. On a 3^rd and 7 Louisville QB Justin Burke had his pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted. Kentucky was unable to convert on their offensive possession and punted back to Louisville, but Kragthorpe consumed all of his timeouts. The Cardinals would penetrate as deep as the Kentucky 38 yard line before the time ran out on them.

The best match-up for the game was between Wildcat CB Trevard Lindley and Louisville deep threat Scott Long. Following one of the three Kentucky turnovers, Long got behind Lindley to drag in a 32 yard pass to put the Cardinals at 1^st and Goal. After two unsuccessful attempts, Burke tossed at fade back toward Long in the corner of the end zone. Lindley positioned himself perfectly and knocked the pass to the ground. Long finished with 5 receptions for 89 yards. Lindley was instrumental in stopping the talented Louisville receivers.

Kentucky (2-0) appeared to find the balance on offense they’ve been searching for. They’re 33 rushes and 28 passes accounted for 346 yards. Most importantly, the Wildcats continued to put big points on the board. Kentucky faces Florida and Alabama in their next two games so scoring will be crucial to stay competitive. Louisville (1-1) looks much improved on defense but must continue to get better as they continue their collision course with the high octane Big East offenses.

Superhuman Effort: The Wildcat crowd kept the intensity despite a dismal start for the Wildcats in the second half. Things looked bad when Louisville took the lead following three straight turnovers, but the noisy Commonwealth Stadium maintained composure and voiced the Wildcats back to life.

Grievance and Gripe: Down 10-7 early in the second quarter, Steve Kragthorpe tried to convert a 4^th and one instead of putting three points on the board to tie Kentucky. That was the closest Louisville got to the end zone the rest of the first half.

Gambler’s Lounge: Louisville managed to spoil the 13.5 point spread and the game topped the 49 point over/under.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Game Recaps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.