Seniors Enjoy First Win Over Cardinals

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Cincinnati football team’s 28-20 victory over the University of Louisville marked the first time the Bearcats have brought home the keg of nails since 2002.

“I said earlier in the week that this wasn’t much of a rivalry because we haven’t won any games against Louisville in quite some time but I think we can all officially say the rivalry is back on,” said head coach Brian Kelly.

Louisville had won five straight games against Cincinnati and nine of the last 10. No current player on the Bearcats’ roster had beaten Louisville.

In 2007, Louisville came into Cincinnati and handed the No. 15-ranked Bearcats’ their first loss of the season, crushing the Bearcats’ dream of a BCS bowl.

The Bearcats came into the game this year with a BCS bowl bid and a No. 22 ranking on the line, but for the seniors on the team, it was the last chance to take home the keg of nails.

“I really wouldn’t have felt like the season was complete without getting that keg of nails,” said senior Dustin Grutza, who, after replacing starter Tony Pike, completed one pass for 24 yards in the game. “It’s my fifth year and I hadn’t seen it yet so it was a big deal for us.”

When Grutza entered the game, the Bearcats had a one-point lead and the ball at their own 28-yard line. On 3rd-and-5 at the UC 33-yard line, Grutza connected on a 24-yard pass to senior Dominick Goodman. Two plays later, John Goebel put UC up eight on a 6-yard touchdown run.

“I’m not a guy that gets too emotional,” Kelly said. “But that felt pretty good to see him make a couple plays. I felt great for Dustin.”

The defense, led by 10 seniors, stopped Louisville on the next two drives to secure the win.

“I think more than anything else I’m happy for my seniors; those kids have done so much to elevate our program,” Kelly said. “We had no respect coming into the second year, so you have to do it with consistency, that’s how you get respect. I think really it’s been all year about gaining respect.”

As the clock hit 0:00, the Bearcats raced over to the endzone to collect their prize: the elusive keg of nails, which was lighter than the players expected.

“It’s way lighter [than we expected],” said Goodman about the keg of nails, which actually contains no nails. “We thought it was going to be heavy with the nails in it, but it’s a nice keg, we’d like to keep it for a long time.”

After the celebration, Kelly noted the keg was not in the best shape.

“It’s in disrepair,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to fix it because there is an old C-paw on it, that’s how long we haven’t had the darn thing.”