LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Notes written without any confidence in my bowl confidence pool projections.
1. The last word I received is new Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm does not plan to attend the Wasabi Fenway Bowl in Boston on Saturday. There's too much important stuff happening at the Howard Schnellenberger Football Complex this weekend.
But there are plans for Brohm to have a presence at the game via a remote TV interview with the ESPN broadcast team of Chris Cotter (play by play); Mark Herzlich (analyst) and Kelsey Riggs (sidelines).
Considering the modest significance of the game, ESPN would be wise to interview Brohm as well his U of L predecessor Scott Satterfield, who is also scheduled to skip the game as the new head coach at Cincinnati.
Louisville is expecting more than 20 visitors for the final recruiting weekend before the early signing period begins Wednesday.
In his first week on the job, Brohm flew to California and Miami. Sleep has been an elective this week for Brohm. It's a wiser investment of his time to remain in Louisville and build on the Cards' 2023 recruiting class.
Hanging out tonight with the @LouisvilleFB new head coach @JeffBrohm @CoachCBarclay @CoachJHova you know I had to take these guys to the world famous @joesstonecrab pic.twitter.com/MVOVZkmD1R
— Luther Luke Campbell (@unclelukereal1) December 15, 2022
With 14 oral commitments, Louisville's 2023 class still ranks No. 26 nationally and fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference after the coaching transition.
The Cards have already flipped two players who were committed to Purdue: Louisville St. Xavier High School defensive lineman Micah Carter and Saadiq Clemens, another defensive lineman from Henderson County, Kentucky.
Other Purdue commits could follow after the surprising news that the Boilermakers switched to a defensive-oriented head coach by hiring former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as Brohm's replacement. Walters moved quickly to solidify his offense by naming former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, a Mike Leach disciple, as his offensive coordinator.
A source said tight end will be a strong emphasis with any new additions to the Cards' class, because Brohm's offense features targeting the tight end. Purdue tight end Payne Durham had 56 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns this season. Brohm also played a key role in the development of former Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee, who plays for the Rams.
2. The hiring of Brohm brought the expected jolt to the Louisville ticket office. Brad Barber, U of L's assistant athletic director for ticket operations, said the program has sold nearly 1,100 new season tickets since Brohm's introductory news conference.
"We've been very busy," Barber said. "The response has been incredible. I can't wait to see what happens after signing day."
Barber said the ticket office planned to connect with former season ticket-holders who had dropped their plans in recent seasons to build on the vibe from Brohm's arrival.
3. Hard to imagine a more bizarre game than the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. I searched the webpage for the Boston Globe sports department Friday afternoon.
I found links to 54 stories.
None mentioned the Fenway Bowl.
In addition to the expected content about the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox, there were stories about Carlos Rodon, Justin Fields and Zach Wilson. But nothing about the Cards and Bearcats.
Oooof.
4. It was 44 degrees and raining in Boston at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Several weather apps predicted the rain would continue until 90 minutes before kickoff at 11 a.m. Saturday. Best of luck, Mr. Groundskeeper.
5. Neither first-team quarterback is expected to play. Cincinnati will start Evan Prater, who attempted 51 passes without a touchdown this season. The Cards will turn it loose with Brock Domann, who led the team to victories over Virginia and North Carolina State.
6. Cincinnati opened as a slight favorite at several betting sites, but the Cardinals were the pick by 1.5 points at 2:30 p.m. Friday at DraftKings with a over/under point projection for Louisville at 20.5 points.
7. A check of the bowl's official website showed plenty of good seats available. Rows of $199 seats at the 50-yard line appeared to be unsold. But half of the 10 boxes atop the Green Monster wall in left field at Fenway were gone. Those seats were only $149.
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