Fenway Bowl Betting 2023 Odds, Predictions, Preview

The Louisville Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 24-7 in the 2022 Fenway Bowl.

Check out last year's coverage here below and tune back in with us soon for the 2023 Fenway Bowl Odds, Picks and Predictions.

There is a lot of intrigue heading into the inaugural Fenway Bowl showdown between the Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincinnati hired Scott Satterfield away from Louisville on December 5, so he will have a lot of familiarity with his opponent on Saturday even though Kerry Coombs will coach the bowl game for the Bearcats.

These teams will square off in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Saturday, December 17, 2022, at 12 p.m. ET from Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. This will be the first Fenway Bowl as the 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled due to COVID.

Louisville Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Prediction

Both the Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats will be missing some key players ahead of their bowl game. Louisville will be without standout quarterback Malik Cunningham, top cornerback Kei’Trel Clark, and a couple others, while Cincinnati won’t have nearly all of its top receivers and tight ends in the aftermath of Luke Fickell taking the Wisconsin job. The Under is the tempting pick, but the number is so low that it’s best to back Louisville considering Cincinnati is losing a lot more players to either the NFL Draft or the transfer portal.

Score Prediction: Louisville 27, Cincinnati 17
Best Bet: Louisville -1.5 (-110)

Louisville Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Odds

Louisville Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Resources

• Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022
• TV-Time: ESPN, 11:00 a.m. ET
• Venue: Fenway Park
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Expert Picks

Louisville Cardinals Betting Analysis

Since Malik Cunningham is entering the NFL Draft, Brock Domann will be the starting quarterback for Louisville on Saturday. Domann saw action for the Cardinals over the last three weeks of the season, but he didn’t play well. He completed 66 of 123 passes for 866 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions on the year.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals won’t have leading receiver Tyler Hudson and second-leading rusher Tiyon Evans either. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and tight end Marshon Ford will likely be the top targets in the passing game, while Jawhar Jordan should see the bulk of the action on the ground. However, the depth and availability here is a lot better than it is for the Bearcats.

Potential first round cornerback Kei’Trel Clark is leaving school early to take part in the NFL Draft, but the Cardinals will have their other top players from a defense that was ranked 26th in SP+. Linebacker Yasir Abdullah can do it all with eight sacks, four forced fumbles, four passes defensed, and two interceptions. YaYa Diaby can get after the quarterback too, while Momo Sanogo is an excellent linebacker.

Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Analysis

Evan Prater will be the starting quarterback for the Bearcats with Ben Bryant injured. Prater is a third-year sophomore that has been with the program since 2020, but he hasn’t seen much action. He has completed 28 of 51 passes for 340 yards with an interception this season, and he is a dual-threat option that is averaging 5.4 YPC.

Expect a heavy dose of Charles McClelland from Cincinnati in this game. McClelland ran for 834 yards (6.0 YPC) and seven touchdowns this season. There is likely to be a lot of zone read between Prater and McClelland as the top SIX pass catchers from the regular season have either decided to enter the transfer portal or declare for the NFL Draft. McClelland and redshirt freshman Will Pauling are the only two players on the roster that have more than five receptions this season.

Cincinnati typically has one of the best defenses in college football, but that unit could really struggle in the bowl game without Luke Fickell and some talent on this side of the ball. First Team All-AAC cornerback Ja’Quan Sheppard entered the transfer portal a few days ago, joining fellow cornerback J.Q. Hardaway in that endeavor. Defensive end Noah Potter and linebacker Leroy Bowers have put their names in the portal too, Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. is expected to play though and leads Cincinnati with 119 tackles and eight sacks.

Fenway Bowl History

The Fenway Bowl will make its debut in 2022 after getting postponed in 2021 and 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. 2020's game was replaced by the temporary Montgomery Bowl in Alabama, while the 2021 game was outright cancelled due to exposure concerns on the part of the Virginia Cavaliers. This bowl will pit teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and American Athletic Conference (AAC).

This one of four bowls that takes place at a baseball stadium, along with the Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium), Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Chase Field), and Holiday Bowl (Petco Park).