Cincinnati vs. Louisville
Cincinnati and Louisville have 46 meetings on file, the first in 1966; Louisville leads the series 23–22–1 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Louisville 6–4, and Louisville has won the last 3. The winner takes home the Keg of Nails. Louisville holds it. Share
- Cincinnati wins
- 22
- Louisville wins
- 23
- Ties
- 1
- Earliest on file
- 1966
- Longest streak
- 5 Louisville
- Current streak
- 3 Louisville
- Last 10 meetings
- Louisville 6–4
- Most recent
- 2022
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4–0 | ||||||||||
| 1970s | 4–5–1 | ||||||||||
| 1980s | 6–4 | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 3–4 | ||||||||||
| 2000s | 3–7 | ||||||||||
| 2010s | 2–2 | ||||||||||
| 2020s | 0–1 |
- Average margin
- 15 points; 15 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Cincinnati
- 11–12 Cincinnati’s record at home
- At Louisville
- 10–11–1 Louisville’s record at home
- Neutral sites
- 0–1 Cincinnati first
- Shutouts
- 3
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
The Keg of Nails
- Played for since
- —
- Held by
- Louisville
Who holds it comes from the games on file: the winner of the latest regular-season meeting (bowl rematches aren’t played for it); a tie leaves it with the holder (the usual rule; the article doesn’t say). From Wikipedia’s list of rivalry games and the rivalry’s article (CC BY-SA). More on the Keg of Nails.
Games that tell the story
- Cincinnati’s biggest win2009: Cincinnati 41, Louisville 10by 31 points
- Louisville’s biggest win2004: Louisville 70, Cincinnati 7by 63 points
- Upset1991: Cincinnati 30, Louisville 7Cincinnati had a 11% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset1967: Cincinnati 13, Louisville 7Cincinnati had a 24% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
- Upset2002: Cincinnati 24, Louisville 14Cincinnati had a 25% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
Coach against coach
| Years | Cincinnati | Series | Louisville |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–1972 | Ray Callahan | 2–2 | Lee Corso |
| 1977–1979 | Ralph Staub | 0–2–1 | Vince Gibson |
| 1985–1988 | Dave Currey | 3–1 | Howard Schnellenberger |
| 1989–1992 | Tim Murphy | 1–3 | Howard Schnellenberger |
| 1998–2002 | Rick Minter | 1–4 | John Smith |
| 2004–2006 | Mark Dantonio | 0–3 | Bobby Petrino |
| 2007–2009 | Brian Kelly | 2–1 | Steve Kragthorpe |
| 2010–2012 | Butch Jones | 2–1 | Charlie Strong |
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Cincinnati’s side (Callahan 2–2 against Corso). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
Stars of the series
Biggest days
| Bilal Powell Louisville | 24 carries, 209 yards, 2 TD | 2010 Rushing | |
| Armon Binns Cincinnati | 8 catches, 175 yards, 3 TD | 2010 Receiving |
Named most valuable
| Jawhar Jordan Louisville | 2022 |
| Monty Montgomery Louisville | 2022 |
Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on). Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).
Every game
Every game is listed as played on the field.