Louisville football: 3 things to watch for Cards vs. Syracuse

Can Louisville take advantage of the offense vs. offense mismatch

Louisville’s final three opponents: NC State, Syracuse and Kentucky all have something in common. They are all ranked 87th or worse in the country when it comes to total offense. Syracuse is the worst of the three when it comes to yards per play, averaging only 5.05 on the season.

Louisville’s offense is ranked 41st. The Cardinals average 6.53 yards per play and their ability to produce the big play week to week hasn’t missed a beat.

Before last week’s offensive outburst at Duke, the Orange had really struggled to find the end zone. Their highest point total against a power five opponent before that game, 27 against Boston College the week before, in a game where they gave up 58 points.

But Syracuse’s performance last week may have been more about Duke than Syracuse. Duke has lost four straight and a season that started 4-2 looks as if it’s going to end terribly for the Blue Devils. The Orange may have scored 49 points last week, but they only threw for 109 yards.

All of their offensive success came on the ground, as they had two different running backs, Moe Neal and Jarveon Howard, each rush for exactly 115 yards. When NC State faced off against Cuse last month, they were able to hold both of these guys to under 40 yards rushing combined, so it’s more than possible.

That’s not to say Syracuse can’t have success throwing the football. For most of 2019, quarterback Danny Devito has been very good.

But Louisville’s offense has been explosive to say the least. Since October started, Louisville has scored at least 27 points in each game. If the Cardinals can just do what they’ve been doing, they should have a much easier time putting points on the board than the Orange.