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QB Brohm may be back for Louisville vs. Cincinnati

Oct 10, 2006 - 11:00 PM Cincinnati (3-3) at No. 7 Louisville (5-0), 3:30 pm EDT

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Ticker) - Hunter Cantwell likely still will be in charge of Louisville's offense on Saturday.

Quarterback Brian Brohm's thumb has healed quicker than expected but Cantwell likely will start behind center when the seventh-ranked Cardinals open Big East Conference play against Cincinnati.

A junior, Brohm sprained his right thumb in Louisville's 31-7 rout of Miami on September 16 and underwent surgery a day later. His cast came off last week and he threw passes for the first time Monday.

"It's too early to think about that, the exact role," Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino told the Louisville Courier-Journal on Monday. "The thing we'll be able to see is ... how does it do tomorrow? Is there going to be swelling? Is there going to be soreness? We'll kind of just let the week play out, and hopefully he'll get better and better each day and be ready to play."

If Brohm is unable to go Saturday, he almost certainly would return to the lineup against Syracuse next week.

Cantwell has played well in starting the last two games for Louisville (5-0, 0-0 Big East), including passing for 340 yards and three touchdowns last Friday in a 44-17 triumph over Middle Tennessee State.

Cincinnati (3-3, 0-1) lost its conference opener to Pittsburgh on September 8, 33-15, then dropped its next two games. But the Bearcats have rebounded with back-to-back wins, including a 20-14 triumph over Akron last week.

Butler Benton scored a go-ahead seven-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter for the Bearcats, who produced the game's final 20 points after falling behind by two touchdowns in the first quarter.

Louisville has won the past three meetings and seven of eight against Cincinnati for the Keg of Nails Trophy, including a 46-22 road triumph last year. In 2004, the Cardinals crushed the Bearcats here, 70-7.