Current Louisville, Cincinnati interim coaches are no strangers to Keg of Nails rivalry

BOSTON — Remembering specific details of a game that happened 22 years ago isn’t easy, but there were a couple of moments that stuck out for Deion Branch in the 2000 Keg of Nails contest.

The former Louisville wide receiver’s memories were limited to making a catch on an out route during one of the last plays of the game and his helmet coming off as he was tackled out of bounds.

“And we won the game,” Branch, who will lead Louisville this weekend against the Bearcats, said of the Cardinals’ 38-24 home victory over Cincinnati on Oct. 14, 2000.

Branch, who had just transferred in from Jones (Miss.) County Junior College, may not remember that he also had a 45-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Dave Ragone during the first few minutes of the game. He finished with a then-career high 194 yards on eight receptions, including passes of 37 and 69 yards, before getting treatment on a rolled ankle he sustained a week earlier in a 38-17 win over UAB.

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Who could’ve predicted that over two decades later, Branch would be Louisville’s head coach for a bowl game that revived the Keg of Nails rivalry in Boston, where he spent most of his professional career as a New England Patriot? And who would’ve known that, after Kerry Coombs left Cincinnati for Ohio State in 2012, he’d be the Bearcats’ interim head coach for the same bowl game in his first year back with the program a decade later?

It's an unlikely turn of events, yet here we are.

Coombs will lead Cincinnati and Branch will be Louisville’s head coach in the inaugural Fenway Bowl game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Fenway Park.

“It's a weird game,” Coombs said. “You've got two coaches who weren't the head coaches (during the regular season) this game and so certainly different and unique. … The fact that it's a team that's 100 miles away from us, a rivalry game that our players that are on the team right now haven't experienced but I certainly did as a coach the first time around at Cincinnati.

"i know what the Keg of Nails means. We're excited to have all of those parts involved in this game. It's not just a regular old bowl game. There's a lot of interesting facets to it.”

Both programs underwent coaching changes over the last few weeks, with Luke Fickell leaving Cincinnati for Wisconsin. Scott Satterfield then parted ways with Louisville to be the Bearcats’ new head coach and Jeff Brohm returned to U of L to lead his alma mater.

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For one game, though, Coombs, UC’s special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach, and Branch, who came back to Louisville in January as the program’s director of player development, have been called upon to lead the squads.

A better storyline couldn’t have been written up. the Keg of Nails game has taken a nine-year hiatus, but the two interim head coaches, unlike their predecessors, have firsthand experience with the rivalry. They can give that insight to their players, many of whom were in middle school or younger the last time the two teams faced off.

“We had the opportunity to play against UK. That's our original rival,” Branch said of the Governor’s Cup. “But this one here is even more. This one here, it's even better for our guys. It dates back over 100 years and the last time we played was in 2013.”

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Louisville offensive lineman Caleb Chandler and Cincinnati quarterback Evan Prater share common knowledge about a moment from that game at Nippert Stadium.

Both football players mentioned the well-known GIF of then-Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater taking a break from his pregame stretching routine to do the UC chant along with the Bearcats student section behind him He rolled his arms to the right, clapped his hands three times then perfectly executed both the ‘U’ and ‘C.’

That wasn’t even Bridgewater’s biggest troll of Cincinnati that day: he threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns with 17 more yards on six carries in the 31-24 victory. Having won the game the year prior, the Keg of Nails has been in Louisville for the past 10 years and was brought to Boston, according to a Louisville spokesperson.

“That's kind of like what sparked my interest in (the rivalry),” Prater said of Bridgewater's actions, “and so just being a Cincinnati kid growing up hearing about the Keg of Nails and then finally getting the opportunity to play in it, I'm just extremely excited and never thought it would be at Fenway Park.”

Chandler’s from Georgia and, outside of the GIF, isn’t as familiar with the Keg of Nails history. He has heard about it during his time at Louisville, though.

“I've heard that this rivalry was just as big as UK at one point,” he said. “It's just an honor and a blessing to be able to get this game back going and in this type of situation in this bowl game so really looking forward to it.”

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The Fenway Bowl isn’t short of storylines for either team as the Keg of Nails rivalry kicks back up. While the level of knowledge varies among current players on both teams, all will be vying for two trophies: the newer Fenway Bowl trophy and the iconic Keg of Nails.

“I think the most important thing (is that) we fight for this Keg of Nails,” Branch said. "It'll be great. These guys will have a lot of fun with it.”

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Keg of Nails on the line again in Louisville-Cincinnati Fenway Bowl