The first game of the new series between Louisville and Kentucky lived up to the tremendous publicity and anticipation it generated. The Wildcats' Moe Williams opened the scoring on a four-yard run, but the Cards' Anthony Shelman answered with a one-yard run set up by a 21-yard pass from quarterback Marty Lowe to tight end Jamie Asher and an 11-yard run by Shelman.

Louisville took the lead on a six-yard scamper by running back Calvin Arrington, but then UK's Clyde Rudolph caught an up-for-grabs throw from QB Antonio O'Ferral and scored on a 64-yard play that tied the game. Later, with only 3:18 remaining in the contest, O'Ferral drove the Cats 32 yards in seven plays, scoring himself on a four-yard plunge. The PAT was blocked but the Cards' final drive was squelched by an interception, and UK claimed the 20-14 win before a record crowd of 59,162 fans.

In Ron Cooper's first game as head football coach at Louisville, his team beat Kentucky 13-10, giving U of L its first-ever victory over Kentucky in the series that dated back to 1912 but had lapsed 70 years until the game in '94. The Cards trailed the Cats 10-6 with 1:29 remaining in the contest, but running back Calvin Arrington battered into the end zone from one yard out to claim the victory. It was the Cards' first win after seven successive defeats against UK.

Kentucky took an early lead on a 48-yard field goal by Brian Sivinski with 7:22 to play in the first quarter. U of L countered with a 25-yarder from David Akers with 8:06 left in the half. That would be all the scoring until the final period as the defenses controlled the game. Overall, UK tallied just 160 yards of total offense in the contest and Louisville just 216 yards. But quarterback Marty Lowe directed two fourth-quarter drives that spelled victory. Lowe completed four of six passes for 54 yards on the first drive of the final period, leading to Akers' 36-yard field goal that gave U of L a 6-3 lead. Kentucky stormed back with a 90-yard drive in 10 plays, capped off by QB Jeff Speedy's 14-yard run with 4:58 to play in the game. But Lowe led the way back for Louisville, connecting on four of five passes, including a 14-yarder to Arrington that set up the game winner. An interception by future All-Pro cornerback Sam Madison iced the win.

Louisville 38, Kentucky 14 • Aug. 31, 1996, Lexington, Ky. (Attendance - 59,384)

Led by a dominating defensive effort that featured a blocked punt for a touchdown, an interception for another score, a fumble return for a TD and performance that limited Kentucky to 185 total yards for the game, Louisville won its second consecutive game over the Cats and its second in a row at Commonwealth Stadium. The Cards managed only 260 yards for the game themselves. Actually, Kentucky opened the scoring after a 62-yard punt return by Kio Sanford that set up the Cats at the U of L eight-yard line. UK's Ray McLaurin took it in from six yards out to give his team the lead with 9:25 left in the first stanza. Louisville stormed back with 24 consecutive points.

Lexington native David Akers gave U of L its first score on a 20-yard field goal, then defensive back Courtney Dinkins scooped up a punt blocked by linebacker Tony Esters and raced 15 yards to give Louisville the lead for good. A moment later, the Cards' Rico Clark scooped up a Wildcat fumble and sprinted 48 yards for a score that gave U of L a 17-7 halftime lead. The defensive heroics continued in the third period when all-star corner Sam Madison picked off a pass and ran 41 yards for a TD. After Kentucky's Isaac Curtis scored on a 20-yard pass by Tim Couch, Louisville quarterback Jason Payne scrambled around right for 32 yards to get his offense moving. FB Otis Floyd capped the drive with a one-yard TD plunge.

Kentucky 38, Louisville 24 • Aug. 30, 1997, Louisville, Ky. (Attendance - 59,186)

After beating Kentucky two years in a row, Louisville lost to the Cats 38-24 in Hal Mumme's first game as head coach of the Wildcats. Although U of L's sophomore quarterback Chris Redman completed 17 of 28 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns, his totals were surpassed by UK's sophomore quarterback Tim Couch who connected on 36 of 50 passes for 398 yards and four touchdowns. UK led 21-0 in the first quarter but the Cards' Jon Hilbert connected on a field goal at the end of the first half, and U of L battled back with two unanswered touchdowns in the third period to narrow the gap to 21-17. First, fullback Otis Floyd ran one-yard for a score. Then tight end Ibn Green caught a 17-yard pass from Redman for a TD. Quickly, however, UK wide receiver Kio Sanford and Couch delivered the knockout blow with an 80-yard TD play that was followed by a Brian Johnson 29-yard field goal which gave the Cats a 31-17 lead. Louisville again mounted a comeback, scoring on a five-yard pass from Redman to Green. But UK controlled the ball and scored with 6:58 to go on a seven-yard run by Anthony White that produced the final margin. A crowd of 59,186 witnessed the battle.

Kentucky 68, Louisville 34 • Sept. 5, 1998, Louisville, Ky. (Attendance - 42,643) 

The '98 contest saw Heisman Trophy hopeful Tim Couch lead Kentucky to a dominating 68-34 win, and it really wasn't that close. Coach John L. Smith's first game as head coach of the Cards was also the first-ever college football game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. It attracted the largest football gathering in the city's history, a sellout crowd of 42,643. It was hard to tell which was hotter, UK's offense, which netted 801 total yards, or the 90-plus-degree heat and high humidity which greeted the faithful from both teams. The Cats took a 3-0 lead on a 41-yard field goal by Seth Hanson with 6:25 left in the first quarter, but the Cards answered with the stadium's first touchdown ever, a 65-yard pass play from Redman to wide receiver Arnold Jackson. UK answered with two TDs, one a 56-yarder from Couch to tight end James Whalen and a 48-yard pass from Couch to Quentin McCord.

U of L added a Jon Hilbert 22-yard field goal, but UK went on a scoring binge, adding 28 consecutive points to put the game out of reach. Kentucky surged to 41-10 halftime lead. Things didn't get much better as Craig Yeast hauled in a Tim Couch pass on UK's opening drive of the second half to push the Wildcats ahead 48-10. On the day, Redman completed 25 of 44 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns while Ibn Green and Arnold Jackson combined for 255 yards receiving and three scores.

U of L got even for the previous year's 68-34 blowout with its own surprising 56-28 rout of the Cats on UK's home turf as an estimated 8,000 Cardinal fans in the record crowd of 70,692 watched. It was the first game ever in the newly-expanded Commonwealth Stadium. Louisville was only a three-point favorite and the lopsided score represented an incredible 62-point turnaround from 1998. Senior running back Frank Moreau punished the Cats with a career-high 181 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while tight end Ibn Green caught three short touchdown passes. And senior quarterback Chris Redman was brilliant, completing 30 of 40 passes for 331 yards and five touchdowns. Charles Sheffield caught eight of the passes for 118 yards and a TD, while Arnold Jackson added seven for 69 yards and Lavell Boyd caught six passes for 77 yards. Defensively, the Cards surrendered 436 yards, but came up with four turnovers and were never in danger of letting Kentucky take over the game. U of L stopped UK's highly-touted running back, Derek Homer, cold. Homer managed only six yards on 10 carries. Homer and Anthony White, who didn't attempt a carry, had gained 189 yards against U of L in '98. returned it 63 yards to the Wildcat four. It was 28-10 at halftime and the Cards reeled off three TDs in the final eight minutes of the third quarter to put the game out of reach at 49-13.

Louisville 40, Kentucky 34 (OT) • Sept. 2, 2000, Louisville, Ky. (Attendance - 42,515) 

In one of the most - if not THE most - bizarre games U of L has ever played, the Cardinals dodged a bullet and many vivid lightning strikes to hand UK a 40-34 overtime defeat. A crowd of 42,515 sat through an entertaining, surreal evening filled with big plays, ups and downs, two climactic finishes and a one-hour, 12-minute storm delay. Nearly five hours after it began, running back Tony Stallings scored on a 25-yard run on U of L's first play in overtime to give the Cards a 4-3 edge in the modern-day series. Between kickoff and Stallings' game-winner, there were 859 yards of total offense, eight fumbles, three pass interceptions, 11 touchdowns, three lead changes and two ties. Not to mention lots of lightning.

The lightning, accompanied by sheets of windblown, heavy rain, came with 8:11 left in the third quarter and U of L trailing 19-14. After play resumed, the teams combined for 41 points in the final 19 1/2 minutes. With only 47 seconds left and the score tied 34-34, a U of L defeat looked imminent as UK lined up to kick a chip-shot field goal of 18 yards. But U of L sophomore safety Curry Burns blocked Brandon Sanders' low kick, necessitating overtime. U of L won the coin toss, went on defense first in overtime and halted the Cats when safety Anthony Floyd intercepted a Jared Lorenzen pass. Then came Stallings' clincher on the Cards' first offensive play in OT.

Louisville 36, Kentucky 10 • Sept. 1, 2001, Lexington, Ky. (Attendance - 70,838)

U of L scored a three-peat, spoiled new UK coach Guy Morriss' debut and disappointed a crowd of 70,838, third-largest ever in Commonwealth Stadium, with a convincing 36-10 victory. After leading only 10-7 at halftime, the Cardinals dominated the second half - especially the fourth quarter when they exploded for 20 points. Quarterback Dave Ragone hit wideout Zek Parker with an 82-yard touchdown pass on the game's second play from scrimmage and went on to throw for 368 yards. He completed 21 of 34 passes with no interceptions. Parker wound up with six receptions for 184 yards, Deion Branch added six catches for 82 yards and tight end Ronnie Ghent had two 11-yard touchdown receptions. Meanwhile, the Cardinals' defense, that had given up 544 yards in an opening win over New Mexico State, held UK to 155 yards passing and 58 yards on the ground. Defensive end Dewayne White made a team-high 13 tackles and broke up two passes. After UK had tied the score 10-10 on Seth Hanson's 36-yard field goal on the first possession of the second half, Ragone set up U of L's go-ahead touchdown with a 28-yard scramble to the hosts' 11. Ghent then scored his first TD of the day. Ghent's second TD made it 22-10 with 9:57 remaining. Freshman defensive tackle Bobby Leffew recovered a fumble to set up an 11-yard TD run by T. J. Patterson, who capped U of L's final scoring drive of 69 yards with a six-yard run.

Kentucky 22, Louisville 17 • Sept. 1, 2002, Louisville, Ky. (Attendance - 42,660)

Louisville entered the 2002 game with Kentucky as the No. 17-ranked team in the nation. Coach John L. Smith's team was poised to make some noise on the national scene. Oops. Instead, Kentucky prevailed 22-17 as the Wildcats clobbered U of L quarterback Dave Ragone at least 19 times, forcing him into an uncharacteristic 14-of 39-outing. UK QB Jared Lorenzen was 13 of 27 passes for 195 yards, and running back Artose Pinner posted 87 rushing yards on 28 carries as Coach Guy Morriss' squad played keep away from the usually high-scoring Cards. Meanwhile, Louisville rushed for only 55 yards in 24 tries, and 47 of those yards came from a scrambling Ragone. RBs Lionel Gates and T.J. Patterson combined for just eight yards on 11 carries. UK started the scoring on its second possession when Lorenzen found Ernest Simms at the other end of a soft screen pass, and 64 yards later Simms was celebrating the day's first score. Later, a 41-yard field goal by Taylor Begley gave the Blue a 10-0 lead with 4:32 left in the first period. After Ragone fumbled at the U of L 18-yard line and UK recovered, Pinner romped 8 yards on a misdirection play to make the score a stunning 16-0. Louisville answered at the end of the half with a 2-yard TD pass from Ragone to tight end Ronnie Ghent.

Then, on the opening kickoff of the second half, redshirt freshman Broderick Clark gathered in the kick four yards deep in the end zone and streaked an official 100 yards to paydirt to narrow the margin to 16-14. Nate Smith booted a field goal moments later and the Cards had their first lead, 17-16. Mike Williams' intercepted a tipped pass and sealed the win for UK with 3:00 left.

Louisville 40, Kentucky 24 • Aug. 31, 2003, Lexington, Ky. (Attendance - 70,467)  

In a surprising show of efficiency and power running, the Cards launched the Bobby Petrino Era at U of L with a dominating performance over the Wildcats and first-year head coach Rich Brooks. Eric Shelton rushed for 151 yards and two TDs to lead Louisville to a 40-24 win. The Cards took advantage of two punt miscues by the Cats, built an 18-point lead, weathered a UK rally, and ran out the clock with two withering drives in the fourth quarter. The start of the game was delayed one hour and 34 minutes because of a severe thunderstorm front that swept through Commonwealth Stadium during pre-game warmups. Once the contest began, it was Petrino's' Cards who proved devastating. Louisville recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown, scored a safety on another botched punt, and after a free kick, scored a field goal to make the score 26-10. But UK quarterback Jared Lorenzen rallied the Cats with consecutive touchdowns, including a 31-yard pass for a TD, the first career catch for true freshman Keenan Burton.

U of L led just 26-24 as the final stanza began and responded to the challenge with a powerful 81-yard, 14-play scoring drive, capped by Shelton's 22-yard scamper. The Cardinals ran out all but the final seconds on their final drive, with junior Lionel Gates scoring on a 2-yard run to provide the final margin. The victory gave the Cards their fourth win in the past five season over the Wildcats.

The Cardinals posted the first shutout in the modern-day series with UK and its first shutout against any opponent with a 28-0 victory over the Cats in a game that drew the largest crowd in the six-year history of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Senior running back Lionel Gates led the way with 112 yards and two touchdowns. It was Louisville's fifth win over the Cats in their last six meetings.

UK rushed for just 66 yards and failed to score in their season opener for the first time since 1962. In the first half, Kentucky managed just 87 total yards and failed to cross midfield. Meanwhile, Louisville took a 7-0 lead on a five-yard run with 1:10 to go in the first stanza, capping a 13-play march that was guided by second-string quarterback Brian Brohm, a true freshman. For the day, starting QB Stefan LeFors completed 8 of 14 passes for 139 yards and one score and rushed five times for 22 yards. Brohm was 6-of-7 passing for 39 yards on the day. UK started the second half in a big way as freshman Keenan Burton returned the kickoff to the Cards' 47. But on three plays later, U of L defensive end Marcus Jones hit Wildcat quarterback Shane Boyd as he was throwing the ball, and Kerry Rhodes made an easy interception and waltzed 56 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0. LeFors connected with wideout Broderick Clark in the back corner of the end zone with 54 seconds left in the third period to raise the margin to 21-0. Gates capped an early fourth-quarter drive with a one-yard score to provide the final margin. With 4:54 to go in the contest, Brohm moved the Cards methodically to a first-and-goal situation at the UK seven, the big play being a 35-yard run by Gates. Three straight runs left the ball at the one-yard line, but U of L coach Bobby Petrino ordered Brohm to take a knee rather than try to score again. UK responded by trying to score itself and collected about one-fourth of its 238 yards of total offense for the game in the final nine seconds of play.