2022 Fenway Bowl – Cincinnati vs Louisville
posted December 11
The Game
It’s time for some WICKID HAAARD action in Boston as the Bearcats and Cardinals do battle in the inaugural Fenway Bowl! This game was a casualty of the SCAMDEMIC in 2020 and the CRISIS OF THE VACCINATED in 2021. Hopefully, climate change and the evil impacts of colonialism can be held off for a few more days in order for us to get this game in. We can only hope, but there’s no guarantee.
There are a few interesting storylines to get to (see below) but know that the hatred runs deep between these two programs so there should be lots of intensity in this game. Let’s gooooooo!
The Details
Louisville -1 Cincinnati (43)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Pick em
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: LUA-VUH 22 Cincinnati 21
Louisville offense vs Cincinnati defense
It’s hard to know what to expect given that star QB M Cunningham has packed it in for the season. He’s taken a lot of hits and played a lot of football for LUA-VUH so that makes sense. He wasn’t his usual dominating self this year (8 TD pass, 12 rush; 39 total TD in 2021) thanks to some nagging injuries so hopefully the drop-off will something less than yuuuge with the insertion of back-up QB B Domann (54%, 3-5 TD to INT). The Cards were solid on the ground (#35 FBS) and didn’t do much thru the air (#92) and we expect that they’ll try to do most of the work with the rushing attack in this one. Not having Cunningham as a serious threat with his legs will hurt but as far as we know right now, The Cardinals will have their top-two RBs ready to roll (Jordan, Evans – Q inj report) and they combined to rush for over 1,200 yards and 8 TDs. It also appears that Domann will have his top-two targets available in WR T Hudson (1,034, 2 TD, opt-out coming?) and TE M Ford BUT NOTE that the roster carnage could get uglier before game day. Cincinnati had the #1 D in the AAC this season but they could be missing some starters for the game. We’re still tracking the situation.
Cincinnati offense vs Louisville defense
Back-up QB Evan Prater will get the call once again in this one (51 attempts, 0-1 TD to INT) and he didn’t do well in the AAC Championship Game loss vs Tulane. He’ll be missing a few of his top targets in this tilt including #2 WR T Tucker and stud TE J Whyle. The run game didn’t do much this year (#88 FBS rush offense) so it’ll be interesting to see how much success the Bearcats will have on offense. LUA-VUH was above-average vs the run and the pass during the regular season and we like their chances to be stingy in this game. Once again tho, it’s important to keep track of the quitters and roster changes on the Cardinals’ defense as we approach game day.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
LUA-VUH lost HC Scott Satterfield recently……let’s see where he went…..<checks notes>…..WHOA NELLIE he went to Cincinnati!!…..Satterfield has noted that he won’t be involved in bowl prep for either team…..That’s about as likely as “SAFE AND EFFECTIVE”……LUA-VUH bagged Purdue HC Jeff Brohm to take over in 2023 which looks like a solid hire…….Don’t sleep on the battle for the KEG OF NAILS awarded to the winner of this rivalry game…..It was last played in 2013 when LUA-VUH took down Cincinnati by a score of 31-24…..No official word yet on if the KEGGER will be on the line in the Fenway Bowl but we suspect that it will be, yo…….Note the early 11:00am EST start time…..Get those wagers in early!…..Keep an eye out for bodies being dismembered and thrown over the Green Monster as Billy Costigan and Frank Costello are currently on a murderous rampage.
Summary
This game has a familiar look to it in comparison to several other bowl games. It’s tough to handicap a contest with so much turnover at the coaching AND player level. We gather that Cincinnati hates LUA-VUH more than the other way around so that could be an angle you roll with on game day.
Bottom line. If you wanna get down on the Fenway Bowl we recommend that you wait until the dust settles in the days leading up to kickoff to see who’s in and who’s out for both squads.
Conclusion
No leanage.
Note:
‘Official play’ implies we have played the game for our standard wager amount.
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game if you want to get down on some sweet action.
‘No leanage’ implies we won’t be involved in the game from a betting standpoint. In-game wagering possibilities only.