Jeff Brohm was destined to coach in the Boca Raton Bowl.
He had an opportunity as Western Kentucky’s football coach in 2016 but left for Purdue before the bowl game. Nick Holt filled in for Brohm as the team’s head coach, and Central graduate Anthony “Ace” Wales totaled 245 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the Hilltoppers’ 51-31 win over Memphis.
Advertisement
Nine years later, Brohm will lead Louisville football in the Boca Raton Bowl against Toledo at 2 p.m. Dec. 23. A win would give the Cardinals a third straight season of at least nine wins, a program first since the 2012-14 seasons. UofL went 2-1 in bowl games during that span, including a 33-23 Sugar Bowl win over Florida in 2013.
Despite being 0-3 against Mid-American Conference programs in the postseason, Louisville is 13-13-1 in bowl games and has earned bowl eligibility in five straight seasons. Its one tie was against Long Beach State, 24-24, in the 1970 Pasadena Bowl.
Jeff Brohm and offensive coordinator Brian Brohm contributed to the Cards’ 13 bowl wins as MVPs of the 1993 Liberty Bowl and 2007 Orange Bowl, respectively. The elder Brohm played with a broken index finger on his throwing hand but still threw for 197 yards and a touchdown in the 18-7 victory over Michigan State as a senior. The younger Brohm completed 71% of his passes for 311 yards in the Cardinals’ 24-13 win over Wake Forest for the team’s first BCS win since the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.
Now past their playing days, the two Brohms are focused on getting Louisville over .500 in bowl games. They’ll look to accomplish the feat over a Rockets team that has won at least eight games in each of the past four seasons but recently had coach Jason Candle take the same position at UConn.
Advertisement
Here’s a look at Louisville’s bowl history:
Louisville football bowl wins
U of L’s Teddy Bridgewater, #5, is named MVP after their 33 to 23 win over the Florida Gators in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1958 Sun Bowl: Louisville 34, Drake 20
1991 Fiesta Bowl: Louisville 34, Alabama 7
1993 Liberty Bowl: Louisville 18, Michigan State 7
2001 Liberty Bowl: Louisville 28, BYU 10
2004 Liberty Bowl: Louisville 44, Boise State 40
2007 Orange Bowl: Louisville 24, Wake Forest 13
2010 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl: Louisville 31, Southern Miss 28
2013 Sugar Bowl: Louisville 33, Florida 23
2013 Russell Athletic Bowl: Louisville 36, Miami 9
2015 Music City Bowl: Louisville 27, Texas A&M 21
2019 Music City Bowl: Louisville 38, Mississippi State 28
2022 Fenway Bowl: Louisville 24, Cincinnati 7
Advertisement
2024 Sun Bowl: Louisville 35, Washington 34
Louisville football bowl losses
Dec 17, 2022; Boston, MA, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Jawhar Jordan (25) (front) celebrates his touchdown against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the first half at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
1977 Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech 24, Louisville 14
1998 Motor City Bowl: Marshall 48, Louisville 29
1999 Humanitarian Bowl: Boise State 34, Louisville 31
2000 Liberty Bowl: Colorado State 22, Louisville 17
2002 GMAC Bowl: Marshall 38, Louisville 15
2003 GMAC Bowl: Miami (Ohio) 49, Louisville 28
2006 Gator Bowl: Virginia Tech 35, Louisville 24
2011 Belk Bowl: N.C. State 31, Louisville 24
2014 Belk Bowl: Georgia 37, Louisville 14
2016 Citrus Bowl: LSU 29, Louisville 9
2017 TaxSlayer Bowl: Mississippi State 31, Louisville 27
2021 First Responder Bowl: Air Force 31, Louisville 28
Advertisement
2023 Holiday Bowl: USC 42, Louisville 28
Louisville football bowl MVPs
Sep 9, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) passes the ball against the Syracuse Orange during the first quarter at the Carrier Dome. Louisville defeated Syracuse 62-28. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Ken Porco (1957)
Paul Mattingly (Defensive, 1970)
Otis Wilson (1977)
Ray Buchanan (Defensive), Browning Nagle (Offensive, 1991)
Jeff Brohm (1993)
Chris Redman (Co-MVP, 1999)
Stefan LeFors (2004)
Hunter Cantwell (Co-MVP, 2005)
Brian Brohm (2007)
Jeremy Wright (2010)
Teddy Bridgewater (2012-13)
Lamar Jackson (2015; Co-MVP, 2017)
Malik Cunningham (2019)
Jawhar Jordan (Offensive), Monty Montgomery (Defensive, 2022)
Harrison Bailey (Offensive), Jordan Guerad (Defensive), Carter Schwartz (Special teams, 2024)
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football bowl history, from Orange to Sugar to Sun
