Report: Louisville to Face Cincinnati in Fenway Bowl
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It appears that the Louisville football program has finally learned their postseason draw, and they'll be taking on an old rival.
The Cardinals have been selected to play in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl, and will face Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, according to a report from The Athletic's Justin Williams. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. EST.
It is Louisville's third time going bowling in their four years under head coach Scott Satterfield, and their 20th bowl appearance over the last 25 seasons. The Cardinals won the Music City Bowl 38-28 over Mississippi Satte in 2019 during Satterfield's first year at the helm, but dropped the First Responder Bowl 31-28 to Air Force last season.
Louisville finished the 2022 regular season at 7-5, while going 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. They started off the year with a 2-3 mark, but were able to turn things around after that and win five of their final seven games of the season, including a four-game winning streak - their longest since 2016.
The bowl will give the Cardinals an opportunity to right the ship heading into the offseason. Despite turning things around down the stretch to guarantee a winning record for this season, Louisville still ended the regular season with their fourth-straight Governor's Cup loss to Kentucky.
Cincinnati went 9-3 during the regular season, including 6-2 in the American Athletic Conference to finish third in the league standings and lose out on a spot in the AAC Championship. Head coach Luke Fickell, who guided the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff in 2021, left to take the vacant head coaching job at Wisconsin last week.
Like their basketball counterparts, Louisville and Cincinnati are former longtime conference rivals in football stemming from their time in the Missouri Valley Conference, Conference-USA and the old Big East. Even when both schools were Independents during the 1970's, 80's and a chunk of the 90's, the Cardinals and Bearcats played on a near annual basis from 1966 to 2013, with the winner of the matchup taking home The Keg of Nails.
The last showdown came in 2013 with Louisville winning 31-24 in Cincinnati. The two have not played since UofL left for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
(Photo of Louisville Players: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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