Louisville headed to Beef OBradys Bowl

The University of Louisville will be headed back to a bowl for the first time since January 2007. Sunday afternoon the Cardinals (6-6) will announce they have accepted a bid to the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. UofL will face Southern Miss on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

Tickets will be available starting Monday morning at the UofL ticket office - (502) 852-5151.

On April 30, 2008 ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, Inc., announced the creation of the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. To this day, the Bowl is owned and operated by ERT and is played at Tropicana Field, home of the 2008 American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays.

The first-ever St. Petersburg Bowl saw USF, the hometown school, beat Memphis 41-14. Last year's game feature Rutgers and UCF and was also a high-scoring affair. The Scarlet Knights beat the Golden Knights 45-24.

Earlier this week, the bowl announced Southern Miss as the selection from Conference USA.

"Fans are going to see a tradition-rich Southern Miss program that can stack up the yards and light up the scoreboard," said Executive Director Brett Dulaney. "Coach Larry Fedora and his staff have their team on a roll with at least 40 points in seven of their final eight games. Regardless of who the Golden Eagles face from the BIG EAST, the matchup promises to have fans on the edge of their seats."

Southern Miss Director of Athletics Richard Giannini said, "Our Southern Miss football program is elated for the opportunity to play in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg. It is a tremendous destination for our fans and our football players are excited about playing a Big East opponent. We understand from other Conference USA teams that have played in this game that the bowl treats you tremendously and it is a wonderful experience for the student-athletes and fans."

Larry Fedora, the head coach of the Golden Eagles added, "We are extremely excited about the opportunity to play in St. Petersburg in Florida. It is a great area with great weather and we have the opportunity to play a quality opponent from the Big East. We are thrilled about being able to play another game."

Southern Miss (8-4, 5-3) is 15th in the nation in total offense with 458 yards per game, and the Golden Eagles average 37.6 points. In addition to scoring at least 40 in seven of the final eight games, Southern Miss put at least 50 points on the board in each of its final two games.