LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ray Davis broke free for a go-ahead, 37-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining and caught two second-half touchdowns, helping Kentucky rally past No. 9 Louisville 38-31 on Saturday in the Governor's Cup.

What You Need To Know

  • Ray Davis broke free for a go-ahead, 37-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining and caught two second-half touchdowns, helping Kentucky rally past No. 9 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 alternating touchdowns

  • 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 now must move past a stinging loss before facing No. 4 Florida State

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 alternating touchdowns. The winner came after Louisville (10-2, No. 10 CFP) 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 the Cardinals 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 set in 2017. 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.

Louisville now must move past a stinging loss before facing No. 4 Florida State.

“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.”

Plummer completed 24 of 33 passes for 242 yards and two scores for Louisville,

Poll implications

Louisville figures to drop a few spots in the rankings, though that won’t hurt as much as losing to its archrival after twice leading by 10.

The takeaway

Kentucky: The Wildcats got contributions from all three phases but especially on defense as J.J. Weaver factored in two fumbles and made a key fourth-quarter sack.

Louisville: This loss might haunt the Cardinals more than other rivalry losses because they twice led by 10 points but couldn’t stop the Wildcats, especially Ray Davis.

Up next

Louisville faces No. 4 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.

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