CINCINNATI BEARCATS NOTES:
BEARCATS AND CARDINALS TO REVIVE RIVALRY AT FENWAY BOWL
• Cincinnati (9-3) and Louisville (7-5) will face off for the first time since 2013, restoring the historic ‘Keg of Nails’ rivalry on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the first-ever Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
• The Bearcats are playing in their fifth consecutive bowl game and 22nd all-time.
• UC can reach 10 wins in a season for the fourth time in five years and only the 10th time in the 135-year history with a victory.
• Cincinnati has already won at least nine games in five consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
• The Bearcats are 10-11 in bowl games all-time, having appeared in back-to-back NY6 games and four in the last 15 years. UC fell to No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in 2021 and to No. 9 Georgia in the 2020 Peach Bowl. Alabama and Georgia have won the last two national championships.
• Kerry Coombs was named Cincinnati’s interim head coach for the bowl following the departure of Luke Fickell on Nov. 27. He agreed to a new three-year deal to be Scott Satterfield’s secondary coach/special teams coordinator on Dec. 9.
CINCINNATI WELCOMES SCOTT SATTERFIELD AS NEW HEAD COACH
• Cincinnati named Scott Satterfield the 43rd head coach in school history on Dec. 5. He brings a 76-48 record over 10 years as a head coach at Louisville and Appalachian State, including a 4-1 record in bowl games.
• He has seen 113 all-conference selections and was named the 2018 Sun Belt Coach of the Year and the 2019 ACC Coach of the Year after leading Louisville to a six-win improvement in his debut season with the Cardinals (from 2-10 to 8-5).
PACE JR. AND CORLEONE COLLECT MAJOR HONORS
• Senior linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. ranks in the Top 15 nationally in tackles for loss (19.5, third), tackles (120, 10th) and sacks (9.5, 14th), while leading a defense that ranked fifth in the nation in yards per play allowed (4.52). He was a finalist for the Bednarik Award, Butkus Award and was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year.
• He has already earned First Team All-America honors from Walter Camp, FWAA, CBS Sports and PFF.
• Pace Jr. (93.1) and redshirt freshman defensive tackle Dontay Corleone (93.9) are top two highest-graded defensive players in the nation according to PFF. Corleone was named a Third Team All-American by PFF. He joined Pace Jr., P Mason Fletcher, TE Josh Whyle, NT Jowon Briggs and CB Ja’Quan Sheppard as First Team All-AAC Selections.
YOU’VE GOT TO PUNT IT UP
• Sophomore punter Mason Fletcher became Cincinnati’s second-ever Ray Guy Award finalist, joining fellow Australian Jimmy Smith (2018). He also became the first-ever AAC Special Teams Player of the Year from the Bearcats after ranking fourth nationally in average (46.7). He set UC and AAC records with an 84-yard punt and a 65.0 average at SMU earlier this season.
• UC ranked second in the nation in net punting (44.69). Fletcher finished with 28 punts I20, 14 50+ and two downed at the 1.
CINCINNATI FOOTBALL’S WINNING TRADITION
• Cincinnati football has the 12th-most wins in college football over the last 15 years (since 2008), winning 70% of its game with a record of 133-58 to go along with seven conference titles, seven 10-win seasons and 12 bowl appearances in that stretch.
• Only Oklahoma (9), Ohio State (8) and Alabama (8) have more league titles since 2008 than UC (7).
• Since 2008, UC also has seven AP Top 25 finishes, three AP Top 10 finishes and four NY6 bowl appearances.
• Cincinnati is 31-5 since the start of 2020 and 53-10 since the start of 2018 – both marks rank in the Top 5 in the nation.
• UC had college football’s 19th-longest home winning streak all-time, winning 32 straight at Nippert Stadium. The streak was snapped in the 2022 regular season finale on Nov. 25, a 27-24 loss to No. 19 Tulane.
• Cincinnati is 659-598-50 (.524) all-time. UC is playing its 135th football season in 2022.
• The Bearcats program dates to 1885 and is one of the 10 oldest in FBS.
THE KEG OF NAILS IS BACK
• Cincinnati and Louisville restore a historic rivalry in a matchup for the “Keg of Nails.” The Bearcats and Cardinals will play for the 54th time with UC holding a 30-22-1 advantage in the series that started with a 7-0 Cincinnati victory in 1929. The trophy is a replica of a keg used to ship nails, which was initiated by the school’s fraternities to signify the winner is “tough as nails.”
• Cincinnati and Louisville played every year from 1966 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2013.
• The last two games were won by Louisville in overtime: 31-24 in 2013 and 34-31 in 2012. In 2013, Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater tossed three touchdowns, including two to WR Devante Parker. In 2012, Bridgewater found Parker for two TDs, too.
• Coombs went 4-1 as an assistant coach in the Keg of Nails rivalry from 2007 to 2011, winning the last four games.
• UC defensive line coach Walt Stewart played in three Keg of Nails games and went 3-0. He had 10 tackles and an INT against UofL in 2009, nine stops and two TFLs in 2010 and four tackles and a sack in 2011.
LAST TIME OUT
• Cincinnati’s 32-game home win streak came to an end with a 27-24 defeat to No. 19 Tulane on Black Friday.
• Ryan Montgomery’s eight- and 15-yard touchdown runs late in the third and midway through the fourth quarter rallied UC to a 24-20 lead at 6:27. Tulane responded with the game-winning 30-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing four-play, 75-yard drive.
• Quarterback Evan Prater made his first-career start, completing 10 of his 26 passes for 102 yards while rushing for 83. Cincinnati’s 235 on the ground were a season-high.
• The Bearcats were without Bryant and freshman AllAmerican nose tackle Dontay Corleone due to injury.
• Defensively, linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. tallied 13 tackles.
• Tulane was led by running back Tyjae Spears, who finished with 181 rushing yards and two scores on 35 carries.
COOMBS GOES BOWLING
• Kerry Coombs is coaching his 12th bowl game, including his fifth at Cincinnati. His previous seven trips were at Ohio State from 2012-21 and all in the New Year’s Six. He spent the 2018-19 seasons with the Tennessee Titans.
• Two of his four bowl trips at Cincinnati were in the Sugar and Orange.
• He is best known in the city for his 16-year tenure as the head coach at Colerain High School in Cincinnati (1991-06), which boasts six alumni on the UC roster that includes First Team All-American Ivan Pace Jr. and starters Dontay Corleone, Deshawn Pace, Ja’Von Hicks and Eric Phillips.
A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE LAST TIME YOU SAW US
• Luke Fickell, the winningest head coach in Cincinnati history, left the Bearcats to become the head coach at Wisconsin on Nov. 27.
• UC AD John Cunningham announced Kerry Coombs as the interim head coach on the same day.
• On Dec. 4, UC was selected to play in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
• On Dec. 5, Cunningham announced Scott Satterfield as the next head coach of the Bearcats. UC held its first bowl practice for the Fenway Bowl.
• Satterfield had been the coach at Louisville, leading the Cardinals to a 7-5 mark in 2022 – making for one of the more unique bowl games in college football history.
• Satterfield is not involved in any bowl prep and will not attend the game as he focuses on recruiting and building a staff.
• Satterfield is 4-1 in bowls and was the 2018 Sun Belt Coach of the Year and 2019 ACC Coach of the Year after he led the Cardinals to a six-win improvement in his first year at the helm.
• On Dec. 9, Satterfield announced his first official staff hire when he released that Coombs will return to the Bearcats on a new three-year deal to be his secondary coach/special teams coordinator.
COACHES STEP UP AMIDST STAFF DEPARTURES
• In addition to Coombs, full-time coaches Nate Letton (TEs), Mike Cummings (OL), Darren Paige (RBs), Walt Stewart (DL) and James Ross (OLB) will coach the bowl.
• Letton, who is in his first year as the TEs coach, is expected to call plays from the booth. He was recently named as a participant in the AFCA 35 under 35 Leadership Institute.
• Letton was an offensive graduate assistant for the Bearcats in 2020 and 2021. UC is 31-5 in three seasons with Letton on staff.
• Also, filling out the Cincinnati coaching staff are: Kurt Rawlings (offensive graduate assistant), Nate Meyer (offensive assistant), Ricky Brown (defense and special teams quality control), Nick Sharpe (defense quality control), Jordan Johnson (offensive graduate assistant), Michael Colosimo (offense quality control), Cam Cleminson (defense graduate assistant), Parrish Gaines (defense graduate assistant).
REESE’S, ANYONE?
• Tight end Josh Whyle and wide receiver/kick returner Tre Tucker each accepted invitations to the Reese’s Senior Bowl (Feb. 4 in Mobile, Ala.). The duo opted out of the game.
• Cincinnati now has 49 all-time participants in the game.
• Tucker finished his career with 111 career receptions for 1,425 yards and eight touchdowns. He was second on the team with 52 receptions for 671 yards in 2022. One of the nation’s top kick returners, he ranks third in UC history in career kickoff return yards with 1,670. He’s also one of only three players to have multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns.
• Whyle, a PFF Third Team All-American in 2020 and three-time All-AAC selection from La Salle High School in Cincinnati, finished with 88 career receptions for 1,062 yards and 15 touchdowns. His 15 TDs surpassed former NFL star Brent Celek for the most in Cincinnati history by
a tight end. He is the third tight end ever to reach 1,000 career yards for the Bearcats.
THE GODFATHER RETURNS
• Redshirt-freshman nose tackle Dontay Corleone earned Freshman All-America honors from College Football News and Third Team All-America accoladdes from Pro Football Focus. He also announced he would return to Cincinnati in 2023 amidst the coaching change.
• Corleone played in 11 games in 2022, rotating with senior Jowon Briggs, to anchor a Bearcats’ defense that ranked fourth in the country in yards per play allowed (4.52).
• A native of Cincinnati and a Colerain High School product, Corleone registered 45 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in his first year on the field for UC.
• Most impressively, he finished as the highest-graded defensive player in the nation (93.9) per Pro Football Focus.
LEARN MORE ON PRATER
• Evan Prater, a redshirt sophomore from Cincinnati starred at Wyoming High School where he won Ohio’s Mr. Football Award in 2019.
• Prater saw extensive action twice this season before his Tulane start, leading UC to a comeback victory in the fourth quarter against USF and playing the final 36 minutes at Temple.
• Prater has completed 28-of-51 passes (55%) for 340 yards with no touchdown and an interception in 2022.
• He has been outstanding with his legs, too, rushing for 196 yards on 36 carries (5.4), totals that include sacks.
• He is 33-of-62 for 378 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INT in his career with 305 yards and three scores on the ground.
JUST LEAD, BABY
• UC is 31-0 when leading after the first quarter since the start of 2017. The Bearcats are 16-17 when trailing at the end of the first quarter. UC is 45-2 when leading at halftime over that span.
UC’S FIVE LOSSES SINCE 2020 AMONG FEWEST
• Cincinnati is 31-5 since the start of 2020.
• UC’s 86.1% winning percentage ranks fourth in the nation during that span, too.
WINNINGEST FBS PROGRAMS SINCE 2020
TEAM W-L WIN %
Georgia 35-3 92.1
Alabama 36-4 90.0
Ohio State 29-4 87.9
Cincinnati 31-5 86.1
53-10 RECORD SINCE 2018 AMONG NATION’S BEST
• UC’s 53 wins and 84.2 winning percentage in that span both rank fifth in the nation.
• Of the nine different teams Cincinnati has lost to since 2018, six have played in a New Year’s Six bowl (Alabama, Georgia, Memphis, UCF, Ohio State, Tulane).
WINNINGEST FBS PROGRAMS SINCE 2018
TEAM W-L WIN %
Ohio State 55-6 90.2
Alabama 60-8 88.2
Clemson 60-8 88.2
Georgia 58-8 87.9
Cincinnati 53-10 84.2
Notre Dame 52-11 82.5
Oklahoma 50-13 79.4
HOME WINNING STREAK SNAPPED
• Cincinnati had won 32 consecutive games at Nippert Stadium from 2017 to 2022 – the 19th-longest home win streak in college football history – before falling to No. 19 Tulane on Black Friday.
HUBER FAMILY CAPTAINS
• Sixth-year senior linebacker Wil Huber already had a master’s in finance and a real estate certificate heading into his first year as UC’s starting middle linebacker.
• He added captain to his resume, joining his dad, former UC tight end Daryl Huber (1988 captain), as what is believed to be the first father-son captain duo in Cincinnati football history.
• Daryl Huber caught 51 passes for 519 yards and two scores from 1985 to 1988.
• Huber has started all 12 games at linebacker this season.
PACE’-ING THE DEFENSE
• Senior LB Ivan Pace, Jr. ranks third in the nation in TFLs (19.5). The Cincinnati Colerain HS product also ranks No. 14 nationally in sacks (9.0) and 10th in tackles (120). • Pace Jr. has been named a First Team All-American by Walter Camp, FWAA, AFCA Coaches, PFF and CBS. He will likely be named just the fourth consensus All-American in Cincinnati football history later this week, joining Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (2021), Kevin Huber (2007-08) and Jonathan Ruffin (2000). He was a finalist for the Bednarik and Butkus awards.
• He is the nation’s second-highest graded defensive player and top LB through 12 weeks per PFF (93.1).
• Pace Jr. now ranks in the Top 10 in single-season school history in TFLs (19.5, 8th) and sacks (9.0, sixth).
• In Week 4, he was outstanding against Indiana, tallying 15 tackles, 4.5 TFLs (fifth-most in UC history), 2.5 sacks and three QB hurries en route to AAC Defensive Player of the Week, Bednarik National Player of the Week and PFF Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• He ranked 10th nationally with 125 tackles for Miami (OH) in 2021. He had six sacks to tie the NCAA record in a single game in 2019.
• He led UC with 12 tackles and 3.5 TFLs in his UC debut at Arkansas to open 2022, earning AAC honor roll accolades.
• His brother, Deshawn Pace, a dynamic defensive playmaker, finished sixth in the conference and third on the team with 94 tackles in 2021 while also adding nine for loss and a team-high four interceptions.
CINCINNATI SINGLE SEASON TFLs
- 13.0 Anthony Hoke…………………………………………………….2007
- 28.0 Mike Gates …………………………………………………………1980
- 22.0 Trent Cole ………………………………………………………….2004
22.0 Antwan Peek………………………………………………………2001
- 21.5 Derek Wolfe………………………………………………………..2011
21.0 Antwan Peek………………………………………………………2002
21.0 Phil Poirier…………………………………………………………..1989
- 20.0 Nate Dingle ………………………………………………………..1992
- 19.5 Ivan Pace Jr. ……………………………………………………2022
CINCINNATI SINGLE SEASON SACKS (SINCE 2001)
- 13.0 Anthony Hoke…………………………………………………….2007
- 12.5 Antwan Peek………………………………………………………2001
- 11.0 Connor Barwin …………………………………………………..2008
- 9.5 Derek Wolfe………………………………………………………..2011
9.5 Silverberry Mouhon ……………………………………………2013
- 9.0 Ivan Pace Jr……………………………………………………..2022
9.0 Terrill Byrd…………………………………………………………..2007
9.0 Terrell Hartsfield…………………………………………………2014
9.0 Antwan Peek………………………………………………………2000
YES, THAT’S CORRECT HE HAD SIX SACKS IN A GAME
• Ivan Pace Jr. had six sacks in a single game, to tie an NCAA record, while starring for Miami (Ohio) in 2019.
• He played in 22 games for the Redhawks from 2019- 2021, making 193 tackles, 25.5 TFLs and 11 sacks.
• His lone interception came against Eastern Michigan, when he picked off Ben Bryant in 2021.
NON-OFFENSIVE TDS RACKING UP IN 2022
• Cincinnati ranks fourth in the nation with four defensive touchdowns (interceptions by Ja’Von Hicks and Deshawn Pace, fumbles by Jabari Taylor and Dom Perry).
• Jadon Thompson added a 100-yard kick return touchdown against ECU to give UC five non-offense TDs on the season.
FLETCHER RANKS AMONG NATION’S BEST PUNTERS
• Sophomore P Mason Fletcher ranks fourth in the nation and first in the AAC with a 46.7 average.
• 28 of his 55 punts (51%) have been downed inside the 20-yard line with 12 downed inside the 10.
• He has 14 punts of 50+ and three 60-yarders, including a school and AAC record 84 on his first SMU attempt.
• His 65.0 average at SMU also set AAC and UC records and gave Fletcher AAC Special Teams honors.
• He averaged 46.5 on six punts against ECU, placing three inside the 20 with a long of 56 and no touchbacks.
• Against Navy, he averaged 49.8 on four punts, with two 50-yarders, three inside the 13, including his second punt downed at the 1 this season.
• In his USF game, Fletcher had a punt downed inside the 1-yard line and all three of his punts were downed inside the 13.
• He has two touchbacks this season (one on the 84-yarder) and 34 of his 51 punts have not been returned.
• UC’s net average of 44.88 ranks second in the nation.
• Fletcher was also named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List and the Ray Guy National Punter of the Week on Oct. 6.
• He also earned AAC Special Teams Player of the Week after booting a career-long 67-yarder and averaging 48.2 yards per attempt against Miami (Ohio) in Week 3.
• The Melbourne, Australia native faced his brother, Max Fletcher, a freshman punter for Arkansas, in the season opener at Arkansas. Mason and Max’s parents, Dustin and Suzanne, flew from Australia for the game. It marked the first time in nearly two years that Mason had seen his
brother and mother. Fletcher’s father, Dustin, a 23-year veteran in Australian Rules Football, came to the Cotton Bowl last season.
REACHED THE AAC WIN STREAK
• Cincinnati tied UCF for the most consecutive AAC regular season wins (17) and most consecutive AAC wins overall, including conference championship games, (19) before falling to UCF, 25-21.
• UCF won 17 regular season and 19 overall AAC games from 2017 to 2019. The Knights’ streak was snapped on Oct. 4, 2019 at Cincinnati to the Bearcats.
METAYER HAD TWO TDS IN SPRING SCRIMMAGE
• With senior all-conference tight end Josh Whyle opting out of the bowl to focuse on training for the Senior Bowl and the NFL Draft, redshirt freshman Chamon Metayer could have a bigger role in the Fenway Bowl.
• The Miami, Fla., native redshirted in 2021 and battled injuries in 2022, appearing in only five games. He had one catch for 32 yards against Kennesaw State.
• Metayer was the star of the 2022 UC spring football scrimmage, however, catching two touchdown passes.
THREE’S (100-YARD RUSHING) COMPANY
• Corey Kiner’s 109-yard output at Tulsa marked UC’s third 100-yard rusher on the season. Myles Montgomery had 104 vs. Kennesaw State, while Charles McClelland went for 101 vs. Miami (OH) and later had 179 yards against USF.
• It is UC’s first instance since 2020 when Gerrid Doaks, Jerome Ford and Desmond Ridder accomplished the feat. The last time UC had three RBs do so was 2018 (McClelland, Michael Warren II, Tavion Thomas).
MONTY PLAYING HIS BEST BALL
• Interestingly enough the one UC back who has not gained 100 yards this season is Ryan Montgomery. He earned the first team reps and the start in the season-opener at Arkansas, but was injured early in the season. He has rounded into shape, and was UC’s top back the final two
weeks of the year, generating career highs in carries in back-to-back weeks.
• Montgomery totaled 92 yards on 22 carries over the season’s first nine weeks.
• In weeks 10-12, he has totaled 178 yards and three TDs on 41 carries. He has set season highs in rushes in three consecutive weeks with 10 for 25 yards vs. ECU, 14-58 with one TD at Temple and 17-95 with two TDs vs. Tulane.
• He’s one of the best punt returners in college football and has seven punt returns for 75 yards (10.7 average) in 2022.
BEARCATS EDGE ECU
• UC scored all three of its touchdowns on 55-plus yards, beginning with Jadon Thompson’s 100-yard kick return, to defeat ECU, 27-25.
• Coe connected on a 21-yard FG with 9:42 left that proved to be the game-winner. The Bearcats forced a fourth-down incompletion with less than two minutes left to seal it.
• Tyler Scott’s 76-yard touchdown reception helped him to a seven-catch, 140-yard game, his fourth over the century mark this season. Tre Tucker also had a 55-yard TD reception
LOUISVILLE CARDINALS NOTES:
CARDS BOWLING FOR THE 25TH TIME
► Louisville will make its 25th bowl appearance in school history when it faces Cincinnati in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl in Boston, Mass.
► The Cards are 11-12-1 all-time during their bowl appearances and are coming off a 31-28 loss to Air Force last season in the First Responder
Bowl. The Cardinals have split their last eight bowl games, with their last win coming in the 2019 Music City Bowl — a 38-28 win over Mississippi State.
CARDS FACE LONG-TIME RIVALS
► Louisville and Cincinnati will meet for the 54th time in school history with the Bearcats holding a 30-22-1 all-time mark against the Cards. It will be the first time the two schools will meet in the postseason.
► The Cards and Bearcats will meet for the first time since a 31-24 UofL win in overtime during the final game of the 2013 season. Louisville
had played every year from 1996-2013 as members of Conference USA, the BIG EAST and one season in the American Athletic Conference.
JEFF BROHM TO LEAD THE CARDINALS
► Jeff Brohm, one of the most accomplished signal callers in school history, returns to his alma mater to lead the University of Louisville football program, UofL Vice-President/Director of Athletics Josh Heird announced on Dec. 8, 2022.
► The 24th head coach in school history, Brohm’s No. 11 jersey is one of 26 to be honored by the program throughout its history.
► Brohm ushers in a new era of UofL football after elevating the Purdue football program to unprecedented success during his six seasons as head coach. He guided the Boilermakers to four bowl appearances and the school’s first Big Ten West Divisional title in 2022.
► Prior to taking over in West Lafayette, Brohm spent three seasons at Western Kentucky, where he compiled a remarkable 30-10 overall record (.750 winning percentage), including a 19-5 Conference USA mark (.792), from 2014 to 2016.
► In nine seasons as a head coach, Brohm boasts a career record of 66-44, a .600 winning percentage, and has positioned himself as one of the
top offensive minds in the country.
► As an assistant at his alma mater (2003-08), Brohm played an integral role in coaching during the high point of Louisville football. Serving as the quarterbacks coach in 2006, with his brother Brian as the quarterback, the Cardinals finished the season with a school best 12-1 record, which was capped by winning the Orange Bowl – the school’s first appearance in the Bowl Championship Series.
► One of the top quarterbacks in school history, Brohm returns to UofL where he enjoyed an outstanding collegiate career from 1989-93. A three-year starter, he still ranks among the Cardinals’ career leaders in touchdown passes (tied for eighth, 38), total offense (ninth, 5,410), completion percentage (ninth, .562), passing yards (10th, 5,451), and passing efficiency (ninth, 129.97), passing attempts (10th, 715) and completions (10th, 402) through the 2022 season.
► Brohm was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player during both his junior and senior seasons, and his No. 11 became part of the Louisville Ring
of Honor in 2006.
► Professionally, Brohm played eight seasons in the NFL, competing with the San Diego Chargers (1994), Washington Redskins (1995-96),
San Francisco 49ers (1997-98), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1998), Denver Broncos (1999) and Cleveland Browns (2000).
► The Brohm family, including mother, Donna, and sister, Kim, was inducted into the Louisville Catholic Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
DEION BRANCH NAMED INTERIM HEAD COACH
► Deion Branch was named the interim head coach for the Cardinals on Dec. 5, 2022.
► Branch, who’s No. 9 jersey is one of UofL’s Honored Jerseys, played for the Cardinals from 2000-01. In those two seasons, Branch’s numbers rank up there with some of the finest wide receivers in school history. He stands seventh in receiving yards with 2,204, ninth with 143 receptions and tied for fourth with 18 touchdowns.
► After helping the Cardinals win two C-USA Championships, Branch was selected in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Branch played 12 seasons in the NFL – seven with the New England Patriots and five with the Seattle Seahawks.
► A native of Albany, Ga., Branch made his name in the post-season, totaling 21 receptions in two Super Bowls (XXXVIII, XXXIX). While with the
Patriots, Branch was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXIX, after tying for the Super Bowl reception record with 11 catches for
133 yards.
► In January of 2022, Branch was named Louisville’s Director of Player Development and Alumni Relations.
THE CARDS ARE GOING BOWLING!
► Louisville will makes its 25th bowl appearance in school history when the Cardinals face Louisville in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl in Boston, Mass. It’s the second-straight year UofL has appeared in a bowl game and the sixth one since 2014.
► Louisville advanced to a bowl game of the 25th time in school history with its 34-10 win over James Madison on Nov. 5, The Cards are tied
for 49th among NCAA FBS programs and 11th among ACC teams in all-time bowl appearances.
► The Cards are 11-12-1 all-time during their bowl appearances and are coming off a 31-28 loss to Air Force last season in the First Responder
Bowl. The Cardinals have split their last eight bowl games, with their last win coming in the 2019 Music City Bowl — a 38-28 win over Mississippi State.
LOUISVILLE TAKEAWAYS
► The Cards came into week 3 against Florida State forcing just one takeaway. That course changed quickly over the following 10 weeks of the season as the Cards forced 27 turnovers and racked up 14 interceptions.
► Louisville has forced turnovers in nine of 11 games this year, picking up three or more in six contests, including a season best eight in a win over No. 10 Wake Forest.
► Louisville owns three defensive touchdowns this season — two on interception returns and one fumble return for a score.
► Cornerback Kei’trel Clark totaled two defensive scores versus Pitt and Wake Forest this year and cornerback Quincy Riley added another one against Wake Forest.
► It’s the first time Cards have scored three defensive touchdowns in the same season since registering four during the 2013 campaign.
► Nine different players have totaled interceptions this season, with Quincy Riley leading the team with three.
► Linebacker Yasir Abdullah ranks top in the country with four forced fumbles and linebacker Momo Sanogo has recovered three fumbles this season.
JORDAN WITH TWO KICKOFF RETRUNS
► Jawhar Jordan has been a special weapon on special teams in his first two seasons. He returned his second career kickoff for a touchdown versus NC State, covering 98 yards. It was the 42nd kickoff touchdown return in school history.
► Jordan is the 11th player to record multiple kickoff returns after he scored from 100 yards in last season First Responder Bowl against Air Force.
LEADING RUSHER
► Jawhar Jordan has taken over as the team leading rusher over the last half of the season. The former Syracuse transfer enters the postseason leading the team in rushing with 700 yards on 133 carries.
► The redshirt sophomore is averaging 5.3 yards per carry, which ranks second on the team. Jordan owns 24 runs of 10 or more yards this season.
► Over the last two games, Jordan has rushed for 250 yards, picking up a pair of 100-yard games. The 5-foot-10 back rushed for a season high 145 yards in a loss at Kentucky and added 105 yards in the win over NC State.
► Jordan ran for 440 yards during the month of November, including three 100-yard games. Besides his 100-yard performances at NC State and Kentucky, Jordan added 117 yards against James Madison.
SCORNG STREAKS
► The Cardinals have scored in 286 consecutive games. The streak is the longest in school history and the 10th-longest active streak behind No. 1 Florida with 433. The last time that the Cardinals were shut out was Sept. 23, 2000 in a 31-0 loss at No. 2 Florida State.
► Louisville has also scored in 217 consecutive home games, a school record and the 16th longest active streak in the FBS. The last time the
Cardinals were shut out at home came on Sept. 12, 1987 against Cincinnati (25-0 loss).
► Louisville is 181-22 all-time when scoring 30 or more points at home.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
► The Cardinals have endured one of the toughest schedules in school history this season.
► In finishing with a 7-5 record, the combined record of those teams were 40-20.
► Louisville defeated five schools with seven or more wins, including a UCF team that went 9-3.
► The Cardinals squared off versus nine opponents who were ranked at some point this season in UCF, Florida State, Pitt, Wake Forest, James Madison, Clemson, NC State and Kentucky.
