The Louisville Cardinals open the Big East bowl season Wednesday against the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg, FL at Tropicana Field.
During the regular season, each team earned victories against its respective conference champions.
On Oct. 23, Louisville (6-6, 3-4 Big East) shut out the Connecticut Huskies, 26-0. After the win, the Cardinals lost two out of their last three games to finish sixth inf the eight-team conference.
The Huskies went on to win five straight, including victories against Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Syracuse to earn the conference's BCS bowl berth to the Fiesta Bowl in Gledale, AZ. UConn plays the Oklahoma Sooners on Jan 1.
On Nov. 13, the Golden Eagles defeated the Central Florida Knights, 31-21.
According to SB Nation's Card Chronicles, this game is already getting a bit chippy.
Coverage of the game begins at 8 p.m. on ESPN.