LEXINGTON, Ky. — Isaac Brown and Duke Watson rushed for two touchdowns each, Ramon Puryear returned one of Louisville's five takeaways for a score and the Cardinals blew out rival Kentucky 41-14 on Saturday to win the Governor's Cup for the first time since 2017.
Brown's 1-yard TD run started the Cardinals (8-4) toward a 20-0 halftime lead before busting a 67-yard, exclamation-point score midway through the fourth as they halted a five-game losing streak against the Wildcats (4-8). He finished with a career-high 178 yards on 26 carries to surpass quarterback Lamar Jackson and become Louisville's first freshman to rush for 1,000 yards. Jackson ran for 960 yards in 2015, a year before winning the Heisman Trophy.
Watson rushed six times for 104 yards, exploding down the left sideline for a 58-yard TD in the second quarter before breaking a 24-yard scoring run late in the third to make it 34-7.
Puryear preceded that score with a 20-yard fumble return for a TD to blunt Kentucky's momentum after Ja'Mori Maclin caught a 4-yard TD pass from Gavin Wimsatt for its first score. Wimsatt, who started the second half in relief of Wildcats freshman Cutter Boley, also connected with Maclin for an 83-yard score in the fourth and was 4 of 9 for 125 yards.
Defensive back Tamarion McDonald recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass for Louisville, which outgained Kentucky 486-328.
Louisville: The Cardinals could have put it out of reach in the first half if they hadn't settled for field goals near the goal line. No big deal, as Brown and Watson broke it open in the second with Puryear highlighting their huge defensive performance.
Kentucky: Boley was supposed to offer a peek into the Wildcats' future in his first collegiate start but tossed two interceptions and completing just 6 of 15 passes for 48 yards. Jamarion Wilcox's two fumbles also hurt and Wimsatt was picked off, but his relief effort sparks offseason questions about a QB battle next spring.
Louisville awaits its bowl assignment on Dec. 8.
