Will Stein wants Louisville-Kentucky football game back at week one

LEXINGTON, KY - SEPTEMBER 17: Will Stein #4 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on September 17, 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Ever since the Louisville-Kentucky football rivalry game’s permanent move to the final week of the regular season, there has been a clamoring from both fan bases to transport the Battle for the Governor’s Cup back to week one.

Now, UK’s new head coach — and U of L’s former quarterback — is joining that group of voices.

With the SEC moving to a 9-game conference schedule, there had been some fear that the future of the Battle of the Governor’s Cup might be in jeopardy. New Kentucky head coach Will Stein, who played quarterback at Louisville from 2008-2012, says he sees no reason for the game to ever go away.

“Yeah, I love the game,” Stein told Big X Sports Radio’s Michael Bennett. “Why would you not keep it? It’s our home state rival. It gives people something to cheer about regardless of what’s happening during the season.”

The game was played in week one of the regular season every year from 1994 through 2007, when Kentucky decided they were losing too much so they needed to move it to week three in years where they were hosting. Then, in 2014, the game moved to its new permanent spot, the final weekend of the regular season.

Stein says he’d like to see the game go back to where it was when he was growing up.

“I used to love it when we played it first,” Stein said. “That’s what I would do. I would move it up to opening weekend or early in the season. But you’ve got to play it. If you don’t, I think that would be not good for the state of Kentucky as a whole.”

Louisville has won the last two games against its arch-rival by a combined score of 82-14.