The good, the bad and the ugly -- bad and ugly first....

Well, first blood in the KFC Yum! Center edition of the Battle of the Bluegrass goes to the University of Kentucky, which defeated the University of Louisville this afternoon 78-63.

As the old saw goes, "Kill the head and the body dies" -- or in basketball terms, neutralize the point guard and your opponent's offense dies. UK's DeAndre Liggins got into the head of U of L point guard Peyton Siva, and instead of playing the inside-out game that had worked against lesser opposition, the Cards went into a scramble drill that made me think Siva had decided to channel Edgar Sosa.

And as if that weren't enough, the "bad" Preston Knowles showed up for the first half, going 2 for 10 from the field on mostly rushed shots. Knowles did revert to "Good Preston" after halftime, but by then the Wildcats has established firm control of the game. Credit UK for that, and for doing a superb job of taking what the Cards were giving them -- mostly in the form of center Josh Harrellson (23 points and 14 rebounds, both career bests).

Taking nothing away from the Cats, I have to wonder what (or if) U of L head coach Rick Pitino was thinking, since center Terence Jennings played almost the entire second half while contributing virtually nothing on either end of the floor. Surely things couldn't have gotten any worse with either George Goode or Stephen Van Treese on the floor. While neither can be reasonably considered a force on offense, both provide efficiency and enthusiasm on defense -- two items noticeably absent from Jennings' game on this day.

As a diehard Cardinal fan, I can only hope UK is that good -- if not, it may be a long Big East campaign for U of L.

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Now for the good.

I wanted to give myself a chance to let my euphoria exhaust itself before commenting on U of L football. I think my head has cleared enough now that the Cards' comeback win over Southern Mississippi is more than a week old.

Charlie Strong is the real deal. With a team of players who had done comparatively little under the tutelage of former U of L coach Steve Kragthorpe, Strong got U of L to its first bowl in four seasons. From Day One, he showed no tolerance for mediocre effort from his team, and as a result, many of the Cards delivered performances no one not affiliated with the team had any reason to expect.

In addition, Strong has returned U of L to its former status as a force on the recruiting trail, attracting one of the nation's best classes for 2011.

U of L can win without an outstanding quarterback. Let's face it -- no one will ever mistake Adam Froman or Justin Burke for Brian Brohm or Chris Redman. This season, though, neither was asked to win games with overpowering stats; instead, whichever man was driving the Cardinal offense strove merely to keep it going the right way. For the most part, both played intelligently and made the plays necessary to at least give his team a chance to win -- and avoided the big blunders that can fritter away victories.

While neither looks like a pro prospect, both were more than adequate at operating the offense, and unlike in previous seasons, neither proved prone to attempting throws that were beyond their means.

Bilal Powell surprised virtually everyone except Strong. The head coach was sold on him long before anyone else -- to the point where much of Planet Red thought said coach had lost his mind. Based on his first three seasons, no reasonable prognosticator would have predicted Powell would come within hailing distance of Howard Stevens' 39-year-old record for rushing yards in a season -- yet that's exactly what happened.

Along the way, Powell led all of Division I-A (sorry, NCAA -- I cannot get used to this FBS nonsense) in rushing plays of 70 yards or more. He also became the first Cardinal to gain 200 yards in a game twice in the same season -- or in a career. Along the way, he rose from oblivion to a solid NFL prospect.

The offensive line was as good as advertised. With four senior starters, this group expected to lead the team to whatever success it would achieve -- and it did. Powell's success sprung in large part from the effectiveness of his blockers, and on most of his long runs this year he was untouched until far downfield. Froman and Burke also benefited from superb protection most of the year.

The defense was far better than advertised. Most observers thought the offense would have to score points in bunches, because the defense would be hard pressed to stop a rumor. Strong and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford, however, created a unit that gave up points only grudgingly; Beef O'Brady's Bowl opponent Southern Mississippi was the only foe to score more than 24 points in the Cards' final seven games, and only twice all year did U of L surrender as many as 35. By way of contrast, each of Kragthorpe's three Louisville teams got lit up for 40 or more at least once.

Candor from the coach. Unlike his predecessor, whose postgame comments reeked of coachspeak and cliches, Strong dealt in the cold, hard truth. When his team played poorly, he said so, and no matter how well his Cards played in defeat, a loss was just that.

Anticipation. With the signing of one of the highest rated recruiting classes in the nation, it's not a stretch to believe U of L soon will rank among the contenders for the Big East championship and its attendant BCS berth. For next year, I might settle for reclaiming the Governor's Cup and the Keg of Nails.