It’s been a football season that was filled with anticipation, had some disappointment and now Cardinal fans are just looking for some satisfaction. Louisville’s schedule is rated the 12th-most difficult in the country by Sagarin and with the win over Wake Forest, the Cardinals are just two wins away from qualifying for a post-season appearance, extending their streak to six-straight bowl appearances. The Cardinals will attempt to get one of those wins this weekend with the Orange coming to town. Louisville and Syracuse, former members of the Big East, will meet for the 14th time in school history, with the Cardinals owning a 7-6 advantage. Louisville won last year’s meeting 28-6 in the Carrier Dome and has been victorious in four of the last five meetings.
Syracuse has now lost 5 games in a row their latest being a 45-21 loss to Florida State. Syracuse has been struggling and their record has fallen to 3-5. The Orange is a young bunch in 2015. In the squad’s last contest at Florida State 19 of its 22 starters were underclassmen. 27 underclassmen have made at least one start this season. True freshmen have seen plenty of action on offense in 2015 for Syracuse. Through eight games, SU has accumulated 2,698 yards of total offense. True freshmen have accounted for 1,983 of those yards (73.5 percent). On the defensive side of the ball, more than half of the Syracuse starters have been freshmen or sophomores this year. At least seven starters have been freshmen or sophomores on defense in every contest this season. As a team, the Orange has registered 503 tackles in 2015. 344 of those tackles (68.4 percent) have been made by freshmen and sophomores. In addition, 443 of those stops (88.1 percent) have been made by underclassmen. Syracuse is ranked 115th in total offense with 2698 yards this season and 24 touchdowns. They are ranked 86th in total defense allowing 3363 yards of offense and 27 touchdowns.
Cuse has a pretty balanced scoring attack with 1319 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground and 1379 yards through the air with 15 touchdowns. Leading the Cuse offensive attack QB Eric Dungey is 90 of 146 passing for 1,140 yards and 11 touchdowns, thus far this year. He currently ranks fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranks 33rd in the nation in passing efficiency (148.0). Dungey has thrown for 11 touchdowns and ran for five scores. He is two touchdowns shy of breaking the Syracuse freshman record for touchdowns in a single season. Sophomore wide receiver Steve Ishmael has picked up right where he left off last season. Ishmael leads Syracuse with 26 receptions and 397 receiving yards on the year. He also has hauled in four touchdowns. Ishmael has been one of Syracuse’s top scoring threats, as of late. He has scored a touchdown in four of the team’s past six games. In addition, he has caught a pass in all eight games for the Orange in 2015. Wide receiver Brisly Estime has been one of the Orange’s top all-around threats on offense. Estime ranks sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 113.75 all-purpose yards. He the second leading receiver on the team with 233 yards and has 14 receptions with 2 touchdowns.
Syracuse’s hybrid backs and running backs have accounted for 514 receiving yards, more than a third of the team’s total. Ervin Philips with 198 receiving yards, while Ben Lewis has 129 receiving yards. Eight of the team’s 15 touchdown receptions have been hauled in by hybrid backs and running backs. Freshman running back Jordan Fredericks has made a name for himself through Cuse’s first seven games this season. Fredericks currently leads the Orange with 397 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns. The second leading rusher on the team is QB Dungey with 306 yards and 5 touchdowns. Syracuse offensive coordinator Tim Lester likes to spread the ball around and he will use his backs in the passing game. Don’t let their record fool you this Cuse offense is very solid. And it all starts up front where senior offensive lineman Ivan Foy, Nick Robinson, and Rob Trudo are Syracuse’s three most experienced players. Between the three of them, they have started 100 contests for the Orange.
Task with stopping this Orange attack is a Louisville defense that keeps trending upward. The Louisville defense is currently ranked 16th in the country allowing just 309.3 yards a game. They are ranked 7th in the country in interceptions with 13 this season. With the way Cuse likes to sling it around they’ll have their chance to improve on this number Saturday. The Cardinals have had 12 sacks over the last two games and are currently ranked 15th in the country with 24 sacks on the season. Junior Trevon Young has been a bright spot for this defense and he has 6 sacks in the last two games and 9 for the year, which is tied for seventh in the country. The Cardinals have held five of their eight opponents to 20 points or less and guys like James Burgess and Keith Kelsey are a big reason why. Burgess is second on the team with 65 tackles after the first eight games of the season and ranks eighth in the ACC with 8.1 tackles per game. Kelsey leads the team in tackles with 68 and ranks 48th in the nation and is sixth in the ACC. DeAngelo Brown has also emerged as a big-time run stopper this season and has been a leader up front on the Cardinal defense. He has recorded a career-high 30 tackles this season. And I have loved the progress of Devonte Fields who had 8 tackles and 1 sack in the last game. He now has 35 tackles on the season and keeps coming up big for this group. Shaq Wiggins and Trumaine Washington at cornerback, while Josh Harvey-Clemons and Chucky Williams have started at safety in each of the eight games this season. The four players have totaled 10 interceptions. Cuse will keep this unit on their toes but they are the glue holding this Louisville season together and that will continue Saturday.
The Louisville offense has been anything but consistent this season but there have been some bright spots. Superstar freshman Lamar Jackson has accounted for 14 touchdowns this season with six rushing and eight passing. James Quick leads the team with four receiving touchdowns in only six games played. While Jamari Staples is averaging 5.0 receptions and 76.8 yards receiving per game since entering the lineup after missing the first four Games. The Louisville rushing attack has struggled this season behind an offensive line that just hasn’t got it done. In picking up a pair of wins in the last two weeks, the Cardinals are averaging just 2.3 yards per carry in those wins. Watching him during the spring and seeing how much he had transformed his body I thought Brandon Radcliff would be a sure in for 1000 yards this season but that won’t happen. Now I’m just hoping to see him reach the 500 mark. Losing offensive linemen John Miller, Jamon Brown and Jake Smith have probably had the most negative effect on this year’s group. The guys up front have just been struggling. I have hopes that they can continue to get better but at this point in the season I think we have what we have. It’s an area that will need to be addressed in the off season. I do think this offense has enough fire power and weapons to win three of the last four games and contend against a good Bowl Opponent.
The Cardinals offense will face a Cuse defense that is ranked 86th in the nation, but they do have some very solid personnel on this side of the ball. Linebacker Zaire Franklin is the man in the middle for the Syracuse defense and leads with 52 tackles on the year. He has 7.0 tackles for a loss, which ranks third on the club, and has accumulated 3.0 sacks. Linebacker Parris Bennett is one of the many first-time starters on the Syracuse defense, but currently ranks second on the club with 44 tackles on the year. Senior Donnie Simmons has started all but one contest at defensive end for the Orange and he leads all Syracuse defensive linemen with 24 tackles on the year. In addition, he ranks sixth on the club with 4.0 tackles for a loss. In their secondary safety Antwan Cordy has certainly made his presence felt and ranks third on the squad in total tackles, with 43 stops. He had eight tackles against a very good LSU team. They have speed and talent all over the field with this group but I think the strength of this Cuse defense is up front. So the Louisville’s passing attack could once again pay off big this week.
This is one of two home games left on the schedule for a 2015 season that is down to the nitty gritty. Our Cardinals know they have to capitalize on these remaining home games and it is important to get these wins. Win these home games and we are going back to a bowl game. The Cardinals will also honor Elvis Dumervil’s No. 58 jersey during the game on Saturday. It will be fitting honoring a former defensive standout because like they have all year it will be the Cardinal’s defense that is the difference in this game. They’ll be too much for the Orange. Cards on their way to win number five on the season and will finally get over that .500 mark.
Louisville 27 Syracuse 17