As Louisville prepares to wrap up its regular season Saturday afternoon at home against archrival Kentucky, the Cardinals will continue their fight against injuries.
Senior receiver Chris Bell is the latest addition to the medical ward for the Cardinals (7-4), who have lost their last three games. Coach Jeff Brohm announced that Bell would miss Saturday’s game against the Wildcats (5-6) after suffering a leg injury during last weekend’s 38-6 loss at SMU.
Bell ranks 12th nationally with 917 receiving yards.
The Cardinals played SMU without starting quarterback Miller Moss as well as Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown, their top two running backs. In addition, receiver and kick returner Caullin Lacy left the game in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury.
Louisville will try to get Moss back on the field on Saturday, but he told reporters Monday he could see more than one quarterback playing. Redshirt freshman Deuce Adams started at SMU and threw for 94 yards.
Brohm also said he wouldn’t know about the other injured players’ availability until later this week. If Isaac Brown, Keyjuan Brown and Lacy can’t play, Brohm said two of the top options likely would be walk-on back Braxton Jennings (87 yards rushing) and redshirt freshman receiver Shaun Boykins (one catch for 5 yards).
Regardless of who plays, Brohm said his team still can end the regular season on a strong note.
“They’ll get a chance to play in front of our own fans and show what we’re made of, so you can show how we can bounce back,” Brohm said. “And then you progress to postseason play, and you try to put your best performance together there and finish the season strong.”
The Wildcats, meanwhile, had been finishing the season strong until last Saturday’s 45-17 loss at Vanderbilt snapped a three-game winning streak.
Still, Kentucky would become bowl eligible with a win on Saturday.
“Very big game,” coach Mark Stoops said. “It’s important to myself, it’s important to the team, it’s important to the (Kentucky fans) and the state.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Vanderbilt. It was his second-highest yardage total this season since becoming the starter against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 13.
Boley’s first career start came against Louisville at the end of last season, a game the Cardinals won 41-14 in Lexington. Boley was 6 of 15 for 48 yards for Kentucky, which leads the all-time series 20-16.
