The Keg of Nails is a traveling trophy continuously-awarded to the winner of the American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

game between the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

and

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

. The rivalry has stretched over the span of four conferences from the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

, to

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

, and more recently in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

, which in 2013 was renamed to the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

. It is believed to be the oldest rivalry for the Louisville football team and the second oldest for Cincinnati, only behind the annual game with the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

. The rivalry went on hiatus following the 2013 season, as Louisville moved to the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

on July 1, 2014. Cincinnati leads the series 30–23–1. Cincinnati in the interim was invited to the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

conference and will join in 2023.

Series history

The series was played sporadically before becoming an annual match up from 1966 to 2013, with only a brief hiatus from 1992 to 1996. The match-up gained more significance with the growth of both programs into the 2000s, primarily with the success under coaches John L. Smith and

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head coa ...

for Louisville and

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...

, Brian Kelly, and

Butch Jones Lyle Allen "Butch" Jones Jr. (born January 17, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arkansas State University. Jones previously served as a special assistant to the head coach and offensive analyst at the Univ ...

for Cincinnati. Both programs would challenge for and win titles during their shared time in

and the

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

. The trophy is a replica of a keg used to ship nails. The exchange is believed to have been initiated by fraternity chapters on the UC and U of L campuses, signifying that the winning players in the game were "tough as nails." The present keg is actually a replacement for the original award, which was misplaced by Louisville, lost during some construction of office facilities. It is adorned with the logos of both schools and the scores of the series games.

Notable games

November 8, 1997: Bearcat return specialist

Tinker Keck Tinker "Ty" Keck (born August 10, 1976 in Colby, Kansas) is a Hollywood fitness trainer, former NFL defensive back for the New York Giants and XFL's Los Angeles Xtreme and former actor. High school years Keck attended Colby High School in Col ...

would return two punts for touchdowns, tying the NCAA record at that time. Cincinnati would defeat Louisville 28-9. November 28, 2003: The Cardinals came to Cincinnati in what would go down as a shootout on a snowy afternoon. The Bearcats and QB

Gino Guidugli Gino Guidugli (born March 13, 1983) is a former American football quarterback and current quarterbacks coach at the University of Notre Dame. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at ...

would overcome a 28-7 second quarter deficit and the team was ahead 40-35 with 2:20 remaining in the game. An impressive 54 yard touchdown pass by Stefan LeFors with 70 seconds left would be enough to help Louisville escape with a 43-40 victory. This was the final Keg of Nails game by Cincinnati head coach

Rick Minter Rick Minter (born October 4, 1954) is an American football coach, most recently the defensive coordinator for the Birmingham Iron. He was the linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from February 2013 to ...

. October 14, 2006:The Bearcats took an early lead in the game, but the No. 7 Cardinals led by head coach

were able to score twice at the end of the half, including on a 1-yard pass by quarterback

Brian Brohm Brian Joseph Brohm (born September 23, 1985) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the interim head coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for Purdue University. He played college football at Louisv ...

, to take a 13-10 lead to halftime. Late in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats had a chance win with another pass in the endzone, however it was knocked down by Cardinal cornerback Gavin Smart to preserve the win. The Cardinals won 23-17 and continued their 15-game home winning streak. November 14, 2008: The No. 22 Bearcats, searching for their first Keg of Nails victory in six seasons, came to Louisville to take on a struggling Cardinals team. Cincinnati quarterback

Tony Pike Anthony Steven Pike (born March 10, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati and was drafted by the Panthers in the sixth r ...

exited the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. The former starter, replaced by Pike after breaking his leg, Dustin Grutza entered the game and led the game winning, seventy-two yard drive for the Bearcats to win the game 28–20. The Bearcats would go onto win their first

conference title. December 5, 2013: In a prime time, Thursday night game the No. 16 Cardinals came into Nippert Stadium to play the No. 23 Bearcats.

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school. Br ...

would have a fantastic game, in which he would lead Louisville to a 31–24 OT victory. December 17, 2022: The Keg was revived in the postseason for the

2022 Fenway Bowl The 2022 Fenway Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The inaugural Fenway Bowl, the game featured Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference and Louisville from the A ...

. The resumption of the series gained further notoriety when then Louisville head coach

Scott Satterfield Fredric Scott Satterfield (born December 21, 1972) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati. Satterfield previously served as the head football coach at the Universi ...

was announced as the new head coach at Cincinnati after the departure of

Luke Fickell Luke Joseph Fickell (born August 18, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He will be the head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers starting in December 2022. Previously he was the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati, ...

. Louisville would go on to win 24-7.

Game results

Wins by location

Wins by venue

References