Opposing coach: Bobby Petrino [Louisville]
September 5, 2004
Game Summary
Kentucky opened the 2004 season with a 28–0 loss to Louisville before a stadium-record crowd of 42,681 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on September 5. The Wildcats kept the score close through halftime, but an offense that struggled to protect Shane Boyd or establish a running game never found its footing. Louisville outgained Kentucky 439–238 and won for the fifth time in the teams’ past six meetings.
Kentucky’s defense provided an early lift with a goal-line stand on Louisville’s opening possession. The Cardinals eventually broke through after freshman quarterback Brian Brohm entered late in the first quarter and directed a 13-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. His seven-yard keeper on fourth-and-three helped sustain the march, which Lionel Gates finished with a five-yard run at 9:43 of the second quarter. Despite its offensive problems, Kentucky reached halftime trailing only 7–0.
The decisive swing came just after the break. Keenan Burton returned the second-half kickoff 44 yards, giving Kentucky the ball at its own 47. Two plays moved the Wildcats across midfield, but on third-and-six Boyd faced pressure from Marcus Jones and threw a pass that safety Kerry Rhodes intercepted. Rhodes returned it 56 yards for a touchdown, doubling Louisville’s lead to 14–0 with 13:45 remaining in the third quarter. It was one of two interceptions Rhodes made in the game.
Louisville extended the margin late in the third quarter when Stefan LeFors found Broderick Clark for a 16-yard touchdown. A 41-yard screen pass to Michael Bush helped set up that score. Gates added a one-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter and finished with 112 rushing yards and two scores. Bush contributed another 73 yards on the ground as Louisville piled up 261 rushing yards to Kentucky’s 66.
Boyd completed 14 of 34 passes for 172 yards with two interceptions and was sacked twice. Arliss Beach led Kentucky’s rushing attack with 24 yards on 10 carries, while Glenn Holt had two catches for a team-high 41 yards. The Wildcats managed only 126 total yards through three quarters before adding 112 in the fourth. A late drive reached Louisville’s 14-yard line but ended on downs, preserving the shutout.
Kentucky had a few defensive and special-teams highlights: Chad Anderson intercepted a pass, and freshman Lonnell Dewalt blocked a field-goal attempt. They were not enough to offset the offense’s three turnovers and persistent protection problems. The defeat marked Kentucky’s first scoreless season opener since 1962 and its first shutout loss since the 2002 finale at Tennessee.
Stadium: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium
Louisville
Box Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisville | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
Halftime: Kentucky 0; Louisville 7
TV: ESPN
TV announcers: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Trevor Matich (analyst)
Referee: D. Honig
Attendance: 42,681
Uniform combination:
Team Statistics
| Statistic | Kentucky | Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 13 | 20 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 4-15 | 5-15 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-3 | 2-5 |
| Total Yards | 238 | 439 |
| Passing | 172 | 178 |
| Comp/Att | 14/34 | 14/21 |
| Yards per pass | 5.1 | 8.5 |
| Rushing | 66 | 261 |
| Rushing Attempts | 26 | 49 |
| Yards per rush | 2.5 | 5.3 |
| Penalties | 7-62 | 8-85 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 2 | 1 |
| Possession | 25:32 | 34:28 |
Scoring Summary
| Period | Time | Scoring play | UK | LOU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | 09:43 | LOU — GATES, Lionel 5 yd run (CARMODY, Art kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 3rd | 13:45 | LOU — RHODES, Kerry 56 yd interception return (CARMODY, Art kick) | 0 | 14 |
| 3rd | 00:54 | LOU — CLARK, B. 16 yd pass from LeFORS, Stefan (CARMODY, Art kick) | 0 | 21 |
| 4th | 07:24 | LOU — GATES, Lionel 1 yd run (CARMODY, Art kick) | 0 | 28 |
Individual Statistics
Kentucky
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arliss Beach | 10 | 24 | 0 | 11 |
| Shane Boyd | 9 | 17 | 0 | 11 |
| Alexis Bwenge | 2 | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| Marcus McClinton | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Tony Dixon | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Draak Davis | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Glenn Holt | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Passing
| Player | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | LONG | SACKS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Boyd | 14 | 34 | 172 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 2 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arliss Beach | 2 | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| Draak Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Holt | 2 | 41 | 0 | 33 |
| Gerad Parker | 3 | 31 | 0 | 26 |
| Eric Scott | 2 | 22 | 0 | 13 |
| Keenan Burton | 2 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
| Scott Mitchell | 1 | 33 | 0 | 33 |
| Lonnell Dewalt | 1 | 24 | 0 | 24 |
Punting
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | IN 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Thornton | 6 | 245 | 40.8 | 48 | 2 |
Punt Returns
| Player | NO | YDS | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draak Davis | 2 | -3 | 5 |
Kickoff Returns
| Player | NO | YDS | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draak Davis | 1 | 22 | 22 |
| Keenan Burton | 3 | 88 | 44 |
| John Logan | 1 | 22 | 22 |
Interceptions
| Player | INT | YDS | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Anderson | 1 | 14 | 14 |
Defense
| Player | SOLO | AST | TOTAL | TFL | SACKS | FF | FR | PBU | BLOCKS | QH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Bwenge | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus McClinton | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lonnell Dewalt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chad Anderson | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muhammad Abdullah | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Durrell White | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jon Sumrall | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ellery Moore | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antoine Huffman | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Karl Booker | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Fontaine | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warren Wilson | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ricky Abren | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Earven Flowers | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Jay Parsons | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Williams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lamar Mills | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vincent Burns | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trey Mielsch | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Schuler | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Williams | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Haydock | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Booker | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Leger | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Louisville
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stefan LeFors | 8/14 | 139 | 9.9 | 1 | 1 | 50.8 |
| Brian Brohm | 6/7 | 39 | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 75.4 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Gates | 14 | 112 | 8.0 | 2 | 35 |
| Michael Bush | 14 | 73 | 5.2 | 0 | 13 |
| Eric Shelton | 10 | 39 | 3.9 | 0 | 12 |
| Stefan LeFors | 5 | 21 | 4.2 | 0 | 12 |
| Kolby Smith | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 | 18 |
| Brian Brohm | 3 | -2 | -0.7 | 0 | 7 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Bush | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 0 | 41 |
| Broderick Clark | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 1 | 19 |
| Joshua Tinch | 2 | 37 | 18.5 | 0 | 34 |
| Montrell Jones | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 | 10 |
| J.R. Russell | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 | 12 |
| Adam McCauley | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 | 16 |
| Lionel Gates | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
Interceptions
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerry Rhodes | 2 | 56 | 1 |
Punt Returns
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montrell Jones | 5 | 27 | 5.4 | 13 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Carmody | 0/1 | 0.0 | 0 | 4/4 | 4 |
Punting
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Moody | 3 | 153 | 51.0 | 0 | 0 | 55 |