Behind Enemy Lines: Five Fenway Bowl Questions For Louisville Report’s Matt McGavic

CINCINNATI — The 2022 Fenway Bowl is just days away and this game is steeped in mystery as both programs experience coach changes and roster changes.

Cincinnati is still a slight underdog as they prepare to play without their top six pass catchers on offense. While Louisville is missing its starting quarterback.

Still, that rivalry is back when the Keg of Nails walking trophy returns at Fenway Park. Cincinnati and Louisville are playing for the 54th time and it is the first meeting since 2013.

I caught up with Louisville Report’s Matthew McGavic to get the Cardinals’ perspective on this game.

1. Who are the top players dropping/substituting before the Fenway Bowl?

Most of Louisville’s notable opt-outs or declarations for the NFL Draft have been on the offensive side of the ball. It starts with starting quarterback Malik Cunningham, who despite an up-and-down season gave the Cardinals their best shot at a win due to his dual-threat-signal-caller skills.

He had 565 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, in addition to a 62.4 completion rate for 1,568 yards and eight touchdowns for five picks. Wide receiver Tyler Hudson has not officially drafted or opted out, but he has not been listed on Louisville’s bowl roster. He had a fantastic second half of the season and, with 1,034 receiving yards, became only the 10th player in program history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.

Then lead running back Tiyon Evans also declared for the NFL draft. Although Evans missed four games through injury, Evans led the team in yards per carry with 6.3 and had six touchdowns as his best position.

Defensively, Louisville is in much better shape but will have some notable absentees. Starting cornerback Kei’Trel Clark declared for the draft and Dorian Jones – a key reserve in the middle linebacker rotation – entered the portal.

2. What should fans know about Bryan Brown’s plan and will anything change for Louisville’s top 25 scorer defense on Saturday?

It will be interesting to see how much of Brown’s plan for the bowl will still be intact considering he’s already departed for Cincinnati. I don’t expect much will change just because so many of their key playmakers are still on the list.

This is a defense that thrives on causing mayhem, whether it’s sacking and tackling for losses or forcing turnovers. They showed some reluctance to blitz early in Brown’s tenure at Louisville, but this season they have shown more willingness to do so. That, and the defensive line has gotten much, much better at achieving penetration, upping the game of the overall defense.

With UofL’s defensive line coach and outside linebackers coach still around, I’d expect the focus in the Fenway Bowl to be mostly on making plays in the front seven. That’s already the power of this defense – it helps keep the secondary out of dire situations.

3. Who are the Cardinals’ top impact players on both sides of the ball, and what sets them apart?

Offensively, Louisville’s top remaining player is running back Jawhar Jordan.

While Evans was the starter for most of the season, Jordan was the one picking up the load on the stretch when Evans was still struggling with an ankle injury, finishing as the team’s leading rusher.

He’s not as much of a “home run threat” as Evans, but he’s incredibly skilled and has bursting speed. Not to mention he’s deadly in the punt return game too.

Defensively, it’s undoubtedly full-back Yasir Abdullah who has enjoyed one of the best single seasons by a Louisville defenseman in program history. Its greatest feature is its versatility.

Not only is he one of the best pass rushers in the ACC, but he has no problem playing the run or taking cover to make plays. He led the team in TFLs (13.5) and sacks (8), but that also came with four forced fumbles, two interceptions and four pass breakups.

Considering he still has an incredible cast of characters around him in the front seven for the bowl – like YaYa Diaby, MoMo Sanogo, and Monty Montgomery – that only makes him deadlier.

4. How excited is the program to rekindle the rivalry in the Keg of Nails?

More than excited.

After their regular-season finale in Kentucky, where they lost 26-13 in a game that was more one-sided than the final score would suggest, there was very little juice in the fanbase for the bowl.

As soon as reports circulated that UC would be their bowl opponent, much of the fan base found the energy to rejoice. Also, the added story from Satterfield-to-Cincinnati certainly helps.

5. The main key to stopping Louisville?

It will likely come down to stopping the run. Backup quarterback Brock Domann has lost some time this year due to various Cunningham injuries and is even a 2-1 starter in 2022, but he is far from being a perfect passer.

A red flag that surfaced in Louisville’s win over NC State and came out in full force against Kentucky was the fact that Domann struggled on numerous occasions to find receivers that were *wide* open.

Hudson, who is on the road for the game, is certainly not helping this issue.

If Cincy Jordan and current backup RB Maurice Turner — who are the only two grantees on UofL’s roster — can bottle up and force the Cardinals to make throws in tricky spots, it could be a long day.

Saturday’s game against Louisville begins at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN. It’s available on fuboTV – start your free trial here.

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