Nov 25, 2023, 04:03 PM ET
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ray Davis broke free for a go-ahead, 37-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining and caught two second-half TDs, helping Kentucky rally past No. 10 Louisville 38-31 on Saturday in the Governor’s Cup.
Davis’ third score capped a wild second half for the Wildcats (7-5) in which the Bluegrass State rivals combined for 42 points and closed with alternating touchdowns. The winner came after Louisville tied the game at 31 on Jack Plummer‘s 21-yard touchdown pass to Ahmari Huggins-Bruce with 2:33 remaining. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. set up that improbable opportunity for Louisville by intercepting Devin Leary‘s floating pass as he was hit by Ashton Gillotte.
Kentucky took the kickoff and quickly drove into Louisville territory, and Davis found room on the left side and was gone for his 20th score that broke Benny Snell’s season record. Davis carried 14 times for 76 yards and caught four passes for 51 yards, including two 20-yard TDs from Leary.
Barion Brown also returned a third-quarter kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to bring Kentucky within 17-14, a key play that awoke his team to eventually tie the game and then lead.
“It was nice to see Ray run like Ray and get tough difficult yards, critical yards,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, whose team also trailed 24-14 before rallying to tie on Davis’ first TD and Alex Raynor‘s 46-yard field goal. “For this team to pick itself up after falling down is a credit to this team.”
The Wildcats ended up winning their fifth consecutive Governor’s Cup. Kentucky is bowl bound but limped in with five losses in six games; Louisville is about to play for the Atlantic Coast Conference title and a possible New Year’s Six bowl game under first-year coach Jeff Brohm, a former Cardinals standout QB.
Plummer completed 24 of 33 passes for 242 yards and two scores for Louisville in the loss.
“This one hurts more than the others,” Brohm said. “We wanted to win this game. We put a lot of emphasis on it. I give Kentucky credit. They came in here and beat us. So, congrats to them. We didn’t do a good enough job, and yeah, it stinks.”
Louisville will now face No. 5 Florida State on Saturday for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s the Cardinals’ first title game appearance since joining the league in 2014.
Kentucky awaits its school-record eighth consecutive bowl destination in December.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
