The Louisville Cardinals (7-4, 5-3 ACC) hook up with the Kentucky Wildcats (6-5, 3-5 SEC) in Week 14 of the college football season. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 12 p.m. ET at Kroger Field in Lexington, KY. We analyze the Louisville-Kentucky odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
Louisville at Kentucky: Three things you need to know
- Kentucky leads the all-time head-to-head series 16-15. The Wildcats won last year’s meeting 56-10 in Louisville on Nov. 24. The Wildcats are looking to cap off their fourth straight winning season and keep the Governor’s Cup in Lexington.
- Wildcats WR-turned-QB Lynn Bowden Jr. has completed 46.7% of his pass attempts for 326 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions through six starts. He has 951 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns on the season along with 348 yards and a touchdown as a receiver. Kentucky is 4-2 with him under center.
- Cardinals QB Micale Cunningham has completed 62.1% of his passes for 1,708 yards with 19 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He has added 374 yards and six touchdowns as a rusher.
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Louisville at Kentucky: Odds, betting lines and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Louisville 28, Kentucky 27
Moneyline (ML)
Louisville enters the week with back-to-back wins, 56-34 over Syracuse and 34-20 over NC State. Kentucky has also won two straight, 50-7 over TN-Martin and 38-14 against Vanderbilt. The Wildcats are 5-2 in Lexington while the Cardinals are 3-2 on the road.
Kentucky (-161) is the favorite at home to retain the Governor’s Cup and clinch the winning season, but LOUISVILLE (+135) is getting too much value to be ignored. The Cardinals have the edge in the quarterback battle and will come away with the road victory.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Cardinals to win outright returns a profit of $13.50.
Against the Spread (ATS)
Kentucky is 8-3 against the spread and covers the line by an average of 4.2 points per game. Louisville is 7-4 ATS overall and covers by an average of 3.4 points per game, but slips to 2-2 ATS on the road while falling an average of 0.9 points shy of the cover.
While liking Louisville for the outright win, the safe play is backing CARDINALS (+3.5, -115) to keep this one within a field goal in the event of a loss. The same $10 bet on Louisville returns a profit of $8.70 should it lose by three or fewer points or win outright.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the OVER 52.5 (-115) in a final-week shootout. Louisville is 6-5 against the Over/Under and tops the projections by an average of 10.1 PPG. The last five head-to-head meetings each topped this number with ease.
Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
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