Louisville Dominates Cincinnati in the Trenches En Route to Fenway Bowl Win

The Cardinals' offensive and defensive lines overwhelmed the Bearcats in the Fenway Bowl, serving as the catalyst for a decisive win over their rival.

BOSTON - Heading Louisville's Fenway Bowl matchup with Cincinnati, both teams were going to be short several top flight skill position players on both sides of the ball.

For the Cardinals, quarterback Malik Cunningham, running back Tiyon Evans, wide receiver Tiyon Evans and cornerback Kei'Trel Clark all declared for the NFL Draft. On the other sideline, the Bearcats were going to be short their top six pass catchers and two two cornerbacks due to both the draft and transfer portal.

So when the two teams met on the gridiron at Fenway Park, it was likely going to be a game dictated by who had more control and leverage at the line of scrimmage. By the time the clock hit double zeroes, and the Cardinals had captured a 24-7 win over the Bearcats to keep the Keg of Nails, trench play - on both offense and defense - was arguably the biggest determining factor in the outcome.

"I think that was the most important part about the game," UofL interim head coach Deion Branch said. "I mentioned to the guys that this game will be won or lost on the frontline - offense and defensive line. And that's exactly what happened."

The Cardinals' defense wasted very little time setting the tone. They forced a turnover on downs on UC's first drive of the game, then middle linebacker Monty Montgomery forced a fumble two drives later.

Defensive end YaYa Diaby credits their fast start to the aggressive nature of defensive line coach Mark Ivey, who served as their defensive play-caller for the Fenway Bowl. He also believes in contributed to their sustained success on that side of the ball.

"That's always coach (Mark) Ivey's nature: start fast, hit hard," Diaby said. "If you can't hit the quarterback, then he gets comfortable. When you hit him, he don't get comfortable so that's not cool down."

Cincinnati was able to string together a methodical drive on their fourth time out, scoring on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Evan Prater to wide receiver Wyatt Fischer, but that was their only score on the day. For the rest of the game, the Bearcats could only muster punt after punt, with another force fumble - this time from safety M.J. Griffin - sprinkled in between. 

Louisville ended up collecting seven sacks against Cincinnati, which was good for the second-most in a bowl game in program history behind only the eight they tallied in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl against Alabama. They also finished with 10 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles (two recovered). They also held UC to just 138 total yards of offense.

The Cardinals' offensive line was a little slower to get going than their defensive counterparts, but they also ended up having a phenomenal afternoon, excelling in both pass protection and run support.

Louisville did give up six tackles for losses, but countered by allowing quarterback Brock Domann to get sacked only one time in the game. Consensus All-American linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. - while he did manage a game-high 16 tackles for the Bearcats - did not have a hand in many game-breaking plays, collecting UC's only sack of the day.

The O-line also did a masterful job opening up holes for the running back duo of Jawhar Jordan and Maurice Turner. Jordan collected 115 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on just nine carries, while Turner rushed 31 times for 160 rushing yards - the second-most by a Louisville player in a bowl game behind only Lamar Jackson's 226 in the 2015 Music City Bowl. The Cardinals rushed for 287 in the game for their most all season, and collected 419 total yards of offense.

"Most definitely," Jordan said when asked if he envisioned himself having that much success against this UC front. "I've been counted out a lot, and I've seen what a lot of people in the media was saying about me in the beginning of the season. I've been counted out, and the team as well. I just put my head down, started working hard and waited for my opportunity."

Branch said he wasn't surprised by Louisville's performance in the trenches. In fact, he challenged his guys all throughout his roughly two weeks as the interim to answer the call, and they responded.

"I challenged those guys last week, and then the week of, and then last night I really changed the guys," he said. "I put up about 15 plays, eight defensive plays and seven offensive plays, just to show some of the players how dominant Cincinnati is on the defensive line, and how talented they are on offense. ... The guys, they took on my challenge without saying anything. They accepted it, and they did. They went out and did exactly what we were supposed to do."

Louisville concludes their 2022 season with an 8-5 overall record for their first eight-win season since 2019.

(Photo of YaYa Diaby: Eric Canha - USA TODAY Sports)

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