How the Fenway Bowl could be a highlight of 2022

Not all bowl games are created equal, but they are all capable of at least having their moments. The 2022 Fenway Bowl should be no exception to the rule.

Every college football postseason feels the same: all eyes are on the CFP/New Year’s Six while 99% of the remaining games mean very little beyond fan service. With that said, the 2022 Fenway Bowl just might fall into that elite 1%, as the stars have aligned for it to hold a rather impressive amount of significance.

Those that are not familiar with the game may find such a statement surprising, as the Fenway Bowl is set to be played on Dec. 17 at 10 a.m.–so early that only two other bowls will have been played by the time it kicks off. The date alone could be enough to scare people off as, quite frankly, bowls played that early in the postseason typically suck.

Do not let the date fool you this time, though, as this game includes a matchup bigger than many others played after it: Cincinnati vs. Louisville.

There are a multitude of factors that make this game a good one (and we will get into them shortly), but let’s take a look at the participating teams on their own first.

The Cincinnati Bearcats turn the majority of the heads here, as they are looking to lock up a 10-win season that would be bookended by a playoff appearance and Power 5 status. But while Cincy may have more of a “Hollywood” story than Louisville, the Cardinals are certainly not playing for nothing.

With where they stand today, the Cardinals are far from a great team, rocking a 7-5 record as they enter Fenway. But, considering how their season began, to have a shot at finishing with eight wins is nothing to frown about.

Louisville’s 2022 campaign saw as horrendous of a start as a Kentucky fan could have wished upon it, with the Cards suffering a 31-7 Week 1 loss to Syracuse. When you’re getting decimated by a team that, at the time, had only made one bowl since 2013, things are not looking too good for you.

And it’s not like Louisville left it at just one oopsie-poopsie. Entering their sixth game of the season, the Cardinals were 2-3 (0-3 ACC) without a single Power 5 win. But now, a win over the Bearcats can make them 6-2 in their last eight games. A turnaround like that gives a team hope for the future, and that should be exactly what Louisville wants to take into the offseason at this point.

Everything that I just said about this pair of teams is enough to give the Fenway Bowl some meaning, but remember, all I have done so far is look at the teams themselves. In actuality, there is much more to this particular matchup that makes it one of the postseason’s hottest storylines.

What all puts the Fenway Bowl over the top?

Something that fans of either team know is that this game is not just some meaningless meeting; Cincinnati and Louisville go back, and I mean way back.

In fact, the 53-game series is Louisville’s oldest rivalry and Cincinnati’s 2nd-oldest (behind its rivalry with the Miami RedHawks). The series is so important that it even has a trophy tied to it–the Keg of Nails, which is easily one of the coolest rivalry trophies out there.

Obviously, two teams sharing that much history is bound to build a wall of hatred between them, but that was before the recent news regarding their coaching situations.

Scott Satterfield had been the head coach at Louisville since 2019. Between then and now, he had garnered a reputation for being one of the more dangerous coaches in the ACC. That is, however, until he left Louisville for–you guessed it–Cincinnati.

Now at this point, you’re probably thinking that there is no way the tension could grow any higher. I mean, surely the matchup won’t be this testy on the field, right? Wrong.

According to ESPN‘s PickCenter analysis, the Fenway Bowl is the only bowl game that has an even point spread (as of Dec. 11), meaning that it is officially expected to be the most competitive battle of the postseason.

Whether it be due to its teams’ stories, rivalry, or equivalence, the 2022 Fenway Bowl should be one to remember. So don’t worry football fans, the heat of the bowl season is coming in a little earlier this year.