By Gavin Lapaille

All last week, University of Louisville football head coach Steve Kragthorpe left mouse traps around his team’s locker room so they wouldn’t fall into a trap.

It almost didn’t work.

U of L gave up 555 yards of total offense, but the Cards hung on to beat Middle Tennessee State University 58-42 last week.

Now, the No. 8 Cards must turn their attention to in-state rival University of Kentucky Wildcats in the annual meeting for the Governor’s Cup.

“Obviously we have to get better as a defense,” junior defensive tackle Earl Heyman said. “We will watch film and we will take [the MTSU] game into consideration.”?

Despite winning seven of the last eight meetings, U of L figures to play a much better UK team than in past seasons. Led by senior quarterback Andre Woodson, the Cats have a prolific offense that can score points in a hurry.

Woodson led the South Eastern Conference with 3,515 yards, 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions last season. He was selected first-team pre-season All-American by Ivan Maisel on ESPN.com and is also on the watch list for the Manning award, given annually to the best collegiate quarterback.

“I just hope he’s named that at the end of the year,” UK head coach Rich Brooks said. “That would mean that he did well and we did well.”

In Kentucky’s wins over Eastern Kentucky University and Kent State University, Woodson passed for 468 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions.

Woodson and U of L senior quarterback Brian Brohm have established themselves among the top quarterbacks in the nation. ESPN.com and NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. rated Brohm and Woodson the two best senior quarterbacks in his weekly draft board.

Still, Brohm said the game is not all about the quarterback match-up. “It is not me against Andre Woodson,” Brohm said. “We are going against Kentucky’s defense.”

Senior running back/kick returner Rafael Little and senior wide receiver Keenan Burton hope to help Woodson make Wildcat fans continue to trust their new slogan, “Believe in Blue.”

U of L has other plans.

After running for a school record 275 yards against Middle Tennessee, sophomore running back Anthony Allen will try to break through a UK defense that surrendered 324 yards on the ground to Kent State last week.

“He’s a big back,” Brohm said. “He wears on you throughout the game and in the fourth quarter he is going to pound you.”

Kentucky may have finished last season with an 8-5 record and recorded their first bowl win since 1984, but some students still don’t respect the Wildcats.

“I think it is dumb that we have to wait an extra three weeks just to beat UK in football,” sophomore political science major Samiul Choudhury said. “All Brooks is doing is delaying the inevitable.”

Since taking over at UK in 2003, Brooks is winless in four tries against the Cards. This is the first time in the Brooks era the two schools did not open their seasons against each other.

“We certainly need to play better against Louisville and hopefully get a victory,” Brooks said. “The rivalry has been one-sided the past four years and we need to take care of that in Commonwealth Stadium this season.”

Kentucky leads the all-time series with U of L 10-9 but the Cats are just 4-9 since the series was renewed in 1994.

UK has lost their last 18 games against ranked opponents and they haven’t defeated a top 10 team since 1977.

The Wildcats are looking to have back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 1983-84 season.

Some students think this could be the year something special happens between the two rivals.

“I believe that this year will be the year that we see this rivalry game get more attention than it ever has,” senior English major Joe Marshall said. “With U of L’s new coach and UK’s new attitude, no telling what’s going to happen in Commonwealth Stadium.”

Kickoff for the game will be at 7:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN Classic and will also be carried by WHAS-TV.