– Legaux my Keg-o

The Cards sprinted toward the end zone at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium like kids at Christmas. Sitting idly on the turf was the coveted Keg of Nails, awarded annually to the winner of the Cincinnati/Louisville football game. For the first time in four years, the Cards laid their claws on the prize. Not since October 13, 2007 had UofL beaten the Bearcats. But, after four consecutive losses, the Cardinals tasted victory, winning 34-31 on a rainy, windswept evening in Louisville.

Coach Strong: “Each week it’s going to be like this, so just prepare yourself it’s gonna be tight and it’s gonna be a finish at the end.” But when I look at this football team you can talk about tenacity, you talk about finish, and you talk about resilience.”

Munchie Legaux praised Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater last Tuesday but when he was asked if he considered Bridgewater’s game similar to his, the UC quarterback said, “I’m better. We’ll see Friday night.” But on Friday night Bridgewater let his play on the field do the talking in the win. Bridgewater passed for 417 yards and had 2TD’s and 1 interception in the huge win for the Cardinals. Legaux managed just 157 yards and threw three costly interceptions to his single TD on the night.

On a night where one would expect the Cards running game to be the key factor it wasn’t. The dynamic duo of Wright and Perry only combined for 110 yards and 2 TD’s. It was a night where the receivers and the passing game stole the show. It was the dynamic duo of Parker and Copeland that would combine for 216 yards and some monster plays. Teddy QB connected with DeVante Parker for two terrific touchdowns that included a 30 yard bomb that tied the game 24-24 early in the fourth quarter. The two would connect again for a 64 yard-er to put the Cards up 31-24. The lead would be short lived though as Cincy would put together an impressive drive of their own to tie the game 31 all.

The back and forth battle would go into overtime. On the Cincy possession Munchie Legaux would throw an interception into the end zone to Terrell Floyd. The Cards then kept the ball on the ground for 3 plays and drove 12 yards on their OT possession to give red-shirt freshman John Wallace the curtain call by kicking a 30 yard field goal to win the game. Wallace was hoisted by his team-mates hero style and carried around the field.

John Wallace: “I was calm and cool,” “I had a lot of confidence.”

This win puts Louisville in some very elite territory at 8-0 on the season. The Cards will stay at home next weekend as Temple comes to town. One can only imagine that after this wild Keg party on Friday night that our Cards will vault a few spots in this week’s polls. It was a great game and will now go down as my favorite in this rivalry.