Sunday, September 02, 2001
Louisville 36, Kentucky 10
UK quarterbacks struggle
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Guy Morriss faces a quarterback crisis after his first game as Kentucky coach.
Sophomore starter Jared Lorenzen and freshman reserve Shane Boyd shared time running Kentucky's offense, but neither proved effective in the Wildcats' 36-10 loss to Louisville on Saturday.
Kentucky amassed only 213 total yards — its lowest output in a game since 1999. Lorenzen and Boyd went a combined 15-of-37, threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. Lorenzen was also sacked twice, and Boyd was sacked once.
“We couldn't find any kind of a spark from either one of them,” Morriss said.
Lorenzen, Kentucky's full-time starter last season, misfired on four of his first five passes. His first two drives stalled near midfield.
Louisville led 10-7 after Derek Abney's 47-yard punt return late in the first quarter. Early in the second, Boyd, a 6-foot-2 product from nearby Henry Clay High School, came into the game to a rousing ovation.
He promptly guided the Wildcats down the field, mixing pinpoint passes with elusive runs. During the drive, Lorenzen, helmet off, sent signals into Boyd from the sidelines and clapped each time he made a play.
“I was happy as can be when he was actually getting the ball down the field,” Lorenzen said.
But Boyd chose the worst possible time for his first mistake.
On first-and-goal from
the Louisville 4, Boyd grazed fullback Gus Jacobs and fumbled. Louisville defensive tackle Scott Lopez recovered.
“It was the quarterback's fault,” Morriss said. “He has to get a little deeper and let the fullback clear and leave the ball for the tailback.”
Lorenzen returned on Kentucky's next possession, but couldn't gain a first down. He threw his first interception two plays into the Wildcats' next possession.
“I didn't play well at all,” Lorenzen said. “It was just one of those days.”
Still, Kentucky only trailed 10-7 at halftime and got the ball to open the second half. Lorenzen marched the Wildcats into Louisville territory on a 12-play drive at the start of the third quarter. But he missed on three of his last four passes on the drive, and Kentucky settled for a tying field goal.
“I don't want to take anything away from Louisville's defense, but we entered the game thinking we could put some numbers up, and we didn't,” Lorenzen said. “I don't know why we couldn't.”
Lorenzen returned for Kentucky's next possession, after Louisville took a 16-10 lead, but didn't complete a pass. The Wildcats punted.
Boyd was back in late in the third quarter to loud roars, but Morriss said Lorenzen wasn't yanked because of his poor play.
“We wanted to get Shane in the game and make the commitment to get him some reps and we did that,” Morriss said.
Boyd got the Wildcats a first down but then threw a weak pass off his back foot that Louisville safety Curry Burns intercepted. Lorenzen was the first player to meet Boyd as he came off the field, and the two sat on Kentucky's bench to discuss strategy.
Kentucky got the ball back early in the fourth quarter — still down only 16-10 — but Boyd failed to complete a pass and was sacked on third-and-18.
The Cardinals scored on their next possession, before Lorenzen returned and made the mistake that ended Kentucky's chances.
On first down from the Wildcats' 12, Lorenzen pulled away too early from center Nolan DeVaughn and fumbled the snap. Louisville tackle Bobby Leffew pounced on it, and T.J. Patterson had a 10-yard touchdown run seconds later.
Lorenzen played Kentucky's final two possessions, completing 4-of-12 passes and getting sacked twice. He finished 12-of-31 for 121 yards. Boyd went 3-of-6 for 34 yards.
Morriss said Saturday's performances won't change the rotation for next week's game with Ball State.
“We're going to go ahead and continue to work both of them. It's still the same situation heading into next week,” he said. “It's hard to evaluate a specific per formance without seeing tape. A lot of times, your gut feeling is wrong.
“I don't want to pass judgment on either quarterback without seeing the tape first.”
Louisville 7 3 6 20—36
Kentucky 7 0 3 0—10
First quarter
L—Parker 82 pass from Ragone (Smith kick), 14:11.
K—Abney 47 punt return (Hansen kick), 1:27.
Second quarter
L—FG Smith 36, 11:00.
Third quarter
K—FG Hansen 36, 10:19.
L—Ghent 11 pass from Ragone (kick failed), 7:17.
Fourth quarter
L—Ghent 11 pass from Ragone (pass failed), 9:57.
L—Patterson 10 run (Smith kick), 9:32.
L—Patterson 6 run (Smith kick), 2:51.
A—70,838.
Lou Kent
First downs ....... 24 18
Rushes-yards ....... 34-118 28-58
Passing ....... 368 155
Comp-Att-Int ....... 21-34-0 15-37-2
Return Yards ....... 26 47
Punts-Avg. ....... 5-34.4 6-42.3
Fumbles-Lost ....... 1-1 2-2
Penalties-Yards ....... 14-121 6-45
Time of Possession ....... 30:39 29:41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Louisville, Patterson 17-72, Stallings 7-17, Branch 4-16, Ragone 6-13. Kentucky, Scott 11-29, Pinner 6-26, Boyd 5-6, Lorenzen 6-(minus-3).
PASSING—Louisville, Ragone 21-34-0-368. Kentucky, Lorenzen 12-31-1-121, Boyd 3-6-1-34.
RECEIVING—Louisville, Parker 6-184, Branch 6-82, Ghent 4-39, Dorsey 3-53, Patterson 2-10. Kentucky, Scott 5-38, Allen 3-47, Smith 3-37, Abney 2-10, Simms 1-14, Cook 1-9.
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Louisville 36, Kentucky 10
