Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Jeremy Wright rushed for 105 yards and three
touchdowns on Sunday, as No. 25 Louisville downed in-state rival Kentucky,
32-14, in the season opener for both teams at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
Senorise Perry carried the ball 16 times for 119 yards and a touchdown, as the
Cardinals earned the Governor's Cup for the second straight year after
dropping their previous four matchups with the Wildcats.
Teddy Bridgewater, who captured Big East Freshman of the Year honors last
season, completed all but two of his 21 pass attempts, throwing for 232 yards
for Louisville (1-0), which went 7-6 a season ago.
Maxwell Smith completed 35-of-50 passes for 280 yards and a pair of
touchdown passes, as Kentucky (0-1) snapped a streak of five straight season-
opening victories.
CoShik Williams rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries, while La'Rod King hauled in
eight passes for 77 yards and a score for a Wildcat squad that finished 5-7
last year.
A muffed punt pinned the Cardinals at their own goal line on their opening
drive of the 2012 campaign, but Bridgewater methodically moved his squad down
the field, getting help from Perry and Wright before scrambling down to the
Kentucky 6-yard line on 3rd-and-8.
Rather than take the points, the Louisville offense trotted onto the field and
Wright carried it five yards behind the right side for the first down, and
quickly capped the 15-play, 99-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge.
Will Stein then found Marcus Smith for the two-point conversion to give
Louisville an 8-0 lead.
Kentucky responded with a sustained drive of its own, as Maxwell Smith led the
offense on a 14-play, 75-yard drive, culminating with a 1-yard touchdown pass
from Smith to Tyler Robinson to bring the Wildcats within 8-7.
Louisville wasted little time countering, as Perry took the sixth play of the
ensuing drive 47 yards for the score to restore an eight-point lead.
After a quick three-and-out from Kentucky, Bridgewater moved the Cardinals
down the field, going 5-for-5 on a 10-play, 93-yard drive, before Wright
finished things off with a 14-yard touchdown surge to extend the margin to
22-7 midway through the second stanza.
Kentucky recovered an onside kick to start the second half, but Craig McIntosh
missed a 42-yard field goal to waste the opportunity before Louisville got a
22-yard field goal from John Wallace to press the lead to 25-7.
After a fake punt attempt from Kentucky failed on its next possession, Wright
capped a brief 6-play, 38-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown surge.
Smith went 6-of-8 passing on an 8-play, 65-yard drive, hitting King for a 5-
yard touchdown strike to bring the Wildcats within 32-14 late in the third,
but a Williams fumble on the Louisville 3-yard line on their next possession
dashed any hopes of a comeback.
Game Notes
The Governor's Cup was created in 1994 as a trophy for the winner of the
Kentucky-Lousiville game ... Kentucky holds a 14-11 advantage in the all-time
series ... Bridgewater also rushed five times for eight yards ... Louisville's
last home win in this series came back in 2006.
The Sports Network