Louisville football: Previewing Syracuse with Inside The Loud House

Louisville football will finish their home slate this weekend when Syracuse comes to Cardinal Stadium for Senior Day. We preview the matchup with the Orange with Paul Esden Jr. of Inside The Loud House.

It’s hard to believe that Senior Day is already here in the inaugural season of Scott Satterfield as head coach of the Louisville football program, but here we are.

Louisville football comes off of a big come from behind win against North Carolina State, where they absolutely dominated in the second half on their way to the sixth win of the season – officially making the Cards bowl eligible.

Now the Cards will look to further enhance their postseason resume when they go up against Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. Getting to six wins is a huge feat in itself for this Louisville football team, but with two more games this season there is still an opportunity to get to 8 wins, something no one thought was possible.

If Louisville is going to do that they’ll first have to go through Syracuse, a team that was projected to finish where the Cards currently sit in the ACC Standings in the preseason. After a 9-3 finish to the 2018 season that included a 34-18 win over no. 16 ranked West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl, the Orange looked primed for another big run in the ACC.

At 4-6 overall and 1-5 in the ACC, the season has been a huge disappointment for a team that started the year with so much promise. Veteran backup Tommy Devito stepped into the starting role full time at quarterback this year after the graduation of Syracuse legend, Eric Dungey, a player responsible for a lot of the success for the Orange the last few seasons.

While Devito has played well for Dino Babers throwing for 2,180 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just five interceptions, he’s not given Syracuse the big-play threat that they were so used to having in Dungey. It doesn’t help that his offensive line has struggled to stay healthy all season while the defense hasn’t been able to stop much of anyone.

In seven games against power five schools, Syracuse has combined to score just 149 total points (which is less than 22 points per game) while giving up over 220 points. They allowed Boston College to score 58 points in a game where they also managed to run for 496 total yards behind AJ Dillon and David Bailey.

Louisville can’t get caught napping, something we haven’t seen much of this season against teams with lesser records. Scott Satterfield has been adamant on his team focusing on themselves rather than the opponent or their record, and I expect that to carry over this weekend.

What does the expert think? We sat down with Paul Esden Jr. of Inside The Loud House, who covers Syracuse football to get his thoughts on what’s happened with Syracuse this season and what he expects to see this weekend.

Preseason expectations were for Syracuse to be one of the top teams in the ACC again in 2019 after a breakout season last year. Things obviously haven’t gone according to plan for Dino Babers as the Orange sit at 4-6 on the season. What’s been the biggest reason for the Syracuse fall in 2019?

Paul Esden Jr.: Going right for the jugular are we? It’s been bitterly disappointing, there’s no hiding that. When you fall short of expectations, it’s never anyone single thing. Syracuse has been bitten by the injury bug at some key positions this year, that’s no excuse just the facts of the matter.

Starting center Sam Heckel got hurt in the first game and hasn’t returned to the team since. Which has forced the rest of the offensive line to shuffle around out of position. On defense, Syracuse lost McKinley Williams their starting defensive tackle during fall camp (back in August) he just finally made his season debut last week. But without him clogging up the middle team’s have been able to put a bigger emphasis on stopping Syracuse’s bookend pass-rushing duo Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson. So it’s a combination of things, but the offensive line issues have been the most prominent.

Up until last weekend against Duke, Syracuse’s offense has struggled to put points up on the board despite being a team built to score. What’s caused the offensive struggles this season and what would Syracuse have to do to get it turned around against Louisville?

Paul Esden Jr.: Against Duke specifically, despite the score, it wasn’t an offensive explosion as much as it was fueled by takeaways. In the third quarter, Syracuse forced three straight turnovers that all resulted in points. Tommy DeVito only completed six passes (which is as many points as Duke scored as a team).

The offensive line issues have forced DeVito all season to throw the ball sooner than he wants to or has had to eat a bunch of sacks which has affected his confidence. Over the last two games, Syracuse has held strong only allowing four sacks. While that may seem like a big number, it’s not if you’ve seen how bad the line has been earlier in the year. To keep it going vs Louisville Syracuse needs to keep hammering the run game. It exploded vs the Blue Devils, the Orange had two 100-yard rushers and totaled 286 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. That’ll have to continue if the Orange want to go on a winning streak.

Louisville has been one of the top running teams in the ACC this season while Syracuse has struggled to stop much of anyone. How do you envision the Orange defense matching up against Louisville?

Paul Esden Jr.: No question that’s a mismatch nightmare. I’m sure the folks over at Louisville saw that Boston College tape from a few weeks ago when the Eagles ran for a program-record 496 yards on the ground. After that game, Syracuse fired their long-time defensive coordinator Brian Ward and Steve Stanard stepped into the interim chair for the final three games of the season. He did a magnificent job vs Duke, but they are a much weaker offense than what the Cardinals will present on Saturday. Syracuse has the talent on defense, it’s about execution and not missing tackles.

One of the biggest struggles for Louisville has been in the secondary as they’ve allowed multiple big performances from opposing quarterbacks. Tommy Devito is by no means a slouch, but considering the struggles he and the offense have had this season how can he take advantage of Louisville’s secondary?

Paul Esden Jr.: Syracuse has legitimate weapons that can hurt you. It starts and ends with Trishton Jackson, Michigan State transfer. He’s got the speed and has big-play ability and his numbers have been video game like this season. On top of him, Syracuse has a host of other guys that can hurt you: Sean Riley, Taj Harris, Aaron Hackett, and Luke Benson is a sneaky weapon that brings 4.3-4.4 speed at tight end which is highly unusual. Syracuse will try to set up the pass with the pass in this game. Tommy DeVito has had some big performances, but it’s now or never on the road vs Louisville.

The uptempo offense of Syracuse has caused a lot of problems for Louisville in the past and could be an issue again with the lack of depth for the Cards. Do you see Babers being able to use that this weekend or will they try and slow things down to keep the ball from Louisville’s offense?

Paul Esden Jr.: Syracuse can’t play slow, don’t be fooled by the big rushing day vs the Blue Devils. They actually scored so quickly, the defense was rushed back on the field. Syracuse hasn’t been running as quickly as they have in the past due to several factors. They’ll try to go up-tempo and see if they can test that depth of the Cardinals on Saturday.

After firing defensive coordinator Brian Ward, Syracuse was able to hold Duke to just six points – their best collective performance this season. Is that success sustainable against an opponent with a high-octane offense?

Paul Esden Jr.: I mentioned it before, Syracuse did a good job vs Duke, but they’re a completely different animal than what Lousiville presents offensively. The Orange entered the 2019 season with expectations that the defense would lead them, it hasn’t. Partly due to injuries, but also partly due to the players not playing up to snuff. In college football you can’t fire the players, Dino Babers isn’t going to fire himself, so Brian Ward was the obvious candidate after three truly lackluster performances this year and two of them were embarrassing (Maryland loss, BC loss). Syracuse has an All-American safety in Andre Cisco and two ferocious pass rushers. They can certainly make something happen in this one.

Give us your score and three predictions for the game.

Call me a believer, it won’t be easy, but I believe the Syracuse football squad finds a way to victory and makes their regular season and home finale vs Wake Forest a ‘win and you’re in’ scenario for bowl eligibility.

This defense is revved up, Syracuse just has to play within themselves offensively, and they’ll get the win. Trishton Jackson will be an x-factor to watch in this one and I think he helps them to a big win. Give me the Orange 32-30 over the Cardinals.