LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- No, Jeff Brohm will not be doused in baked beans if Louisville wins the Boca Raton Bowl. At least, not according to the folks at Bush's Beans, though they didn't completely close the lid on that idea either.
"We want to make this a great experience for your players," said Amy Bolen, Bush's brand manager (and Bowling Green, Kentucky, native) during a virtual bowl announcement news conference. "This could be some of their last times playing. So we want to make this as good of an experience as possible."
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
That experience now includes a beach party, a banquet, a pep rally and a matchup with Toledo at 2 p.m. Dec. 23 in Boca Raton, Florida. But before they could plan their trip to paradise, Louisville had to wait for the beans to stop spilling across the postseason landscape.
A bowl matchup, by process of elimination
The Boca Raton Bowl wasn't among the ACC's contracted tie-ins this season. That didn't stop the Cardinals from accepting an invite once the postseason dominoes began to fall.
"It's not complicated," said Louisville athletics director Josh Heird. "But the way the ACC does its bowl selections, they do it basically in tiers."
Heird said the bowl picture shifted as late as Saturday night when Duke knocked off Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Miami was selected for an at-large spot in the College Football Playoff. And when Notre Dame was passed over for the playoff and opted out of any bowl, it created ripple effects across the conference's lineup. Even heading into Sunday, Louisville officials had "no idea where we were going," Heird said.
It wasn't until the College Football Playoff and other upper-tier bowls made their announcements that the rest of the puzzle could fall into place. Louisville fell into a rare open slot.
"We landed in a really good spot," Heird said. "There are a lot worse places to be on Dec. 23 than Boca Raton, Florida."
Paradise found (and texted)
Brohm agreed and not just because he spent one season on Howard Schnellnberger's staff at Florida Atlantic in 2009, serving as quarterbacks coach after being let go as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator by Steve Kragthorpe at Louisville.
"When (my family) found out we were going, my wife sent me a text and said, 'God really loves me,'" Brohm said with a laugh. "We're excited to go to a great destination, get to play a good Toledo football team. I know it'll be a lot of fun."
Brohm called the location "basically paradise for football" and said he expects his team to treat the trip as both a reward and an opportunity — especially for younger players.
"We had two bad weeks early in a long stretch of games, and we had some injuries," he said. "So we gave guys a break after our last game. This week we'll get back at it. Hopefully we get a lot of work in for some younger players — not only for the bowl, but also next year."
On the injury front
Brohm was asked if starting quarterback Miller Moss will play in the bowl game.
"I don't see any reason why he would not," he answered.
He was less hopeful about the team's injured running backs. Brohm said he was unsure whether Keyjuan Brown, Isaac Brown, or Duke Watson would be healthy enough to return, and expects more clarity later this week.
Louisville's full bowl schedule — including practice days, hospital visits, and other events — is expected to be finalized early this week. But the message is already clear.
This may not be the postseason prize fans envisioned a month ago. But for a team healing up, retooling, and preparing for a strong finish, it may be the bowl they need.
And for Brohm's family?
It's a bowl destination that carries fond memories.
Louisville Football Coverage:
Bowl Destination: Louisville will face Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 23
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