Governor's Cup (Kentucky)
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| Trophy | The Governor's Cup |
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 state of Kentucky; it is also used as a reference to the rivalry itself.[1] Though the teams first played in 1912,[1] they only played six times until the rivalry ended in 1924, not to be renewed for another 70 years. The rivalry resumed in 1994 with a new Governor's Cup trophy, which has been awarded every year since.
The series is currently tied at 15–15, although Louisville leads the modern series 15 to 9.[1] Louisville had a five-game winning streak in the series from 2011 to 2015. From 1994 to 2006 the annual matchup was always played in 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] to coincide with several other ACC-SEC same-state rivalries. [3]With the bitterness that each team's fans bases has against each other, and with the rivalry win-loss spread being even, this rivalry will continue into the next decade as both schools agreed to advance the rivalry into the 2022 college football season. As Louisville and Kentucky both having recent renovations to each of their football stadiums, three of the games being at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, KY and three of the games being at Kroger Field in Lexington, KY.
All-time results
| Kentucky victories | Louisville victories |
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Howard Schnellenberger Award
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-04-2010 | Derrick Locke | Kentucky | RB | 23 carries, 104 yards, 2 TDs [4] |
| 9-17-2011 | Dexter Heyman | Louisville | LB | 12 tackles & 1 forced fumble[5] |
| 9-02-2012 | Teddy Bridgewater | Louisville | QB | 19/21, 232 yards[6] |
| 9-14-2013 | Teddy Bridgewater | Louisville | QB | 16/28, 250 yards, 1 TD |
| 11-29-2014 | DeVante Parker | Louisville | WR | 6 catches, 180 yards, 3 TD |
| 11-28-2015 | Lamar Jackson | Louisville | QB | 8/21, 130 yards, 1 TD
17 carries, 186 yards, 2 TDs |
| 11-26-2016 | Stephen Johnson | Kentucky | QB | 16/27, 338 yards, 3 TDs [7] |
| 11-25-2017 | Lamar Jackson | Louisville | QB | 15/21, 216 yards, 2 TDs
18 carries, 156 yards |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats - Recap - September 17, 2011 - ESPN". Espn.go.com. 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
- ^ Mallory, Laurel. "Governor's Cup moved to last game of season starting 2014 - wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather & Sports". Wave3.com. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
- ^ "Louisville vs. Kentucky Governor's Cup football series extended through 2022". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
- ^ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - September 04, 2010 - ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
- ^ [1] Archived March 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals - Box Score - November 26, 2016 - ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. 2016-11-26. Retrieved 2016-11-26.