Cards' defense shines in 28-6 win over Orange
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – – The trick play worked and the University of Louisville defense looked lost, a rare sight this season.
Syracuse University, with its offense meandering and stuttering about for much of this Friday night frightfest, ran a halfback pass. The ball, wobbling, found its intended target wide open in the end zone.
The crowd erupted. The Carrier Dome's touchdown horns thundered off the walls of this cavernous facility. Louisville's players stared straight ahead, confused and frustrated.
But the play symbolized just about everything from Friday's 28-6 Louisville win on national television. The intended receiver, Ben Lewis, was the only Syracuse fan, player or coach who was not celebrating.
He'd dropped the ball.
It was the most noticeable miscue in a game full of them, another victory for a U of L team that's won five of its six games and still can't quite figure everything out on offense.
"That's a good win for us," U of L coach Bobby Petrino said. "Our defense played extremely well … Our offense hung in there. We were patient. We wore them down."
Again the Louisville defense stole the show, stifling Syracuse's 25th-ranked rushing offense and forcing two turnovers in the process.
Gerod Holliman snatched his seventh interception of the season, which tightened his grip on the national lead in that category.
But that wasn't all he did. His shoestring tackle of Syracuse running back Adonis Ameen-Moore in the Orange's end zone gave Louisville two points, one of the Cards' two safeties.
"We went over everything," linebacker Keith Kelsey said. "They were trying to make our heads spin and get us all out of whack, but we just kept our composure."
Syracuse (2-3) came into this game averaging 5.7 yards per rush. Louisville's swarming defense limited the Orange to just 69 yards from 25 attempts on Friday, always finding Syracuse's dual-threat quarterback Terrel Hunt before he could discover a running lane.
Hunt, who'd churned out 126 rushing yards against Maryland and 92 at Central Michigan, only escaped for a big gain once. He ran five times for eight net yards.
Louisville made Hunt pass. That didn't end well for the Orange's senior signal caller.
He completed 17 of 32 pass attempts for 196 yards. Holliman and fellow safety James Sample both intercepted a Hunt pass.
As much as Syracuse's offense struggled and Louisville's defense thrived, the Cardinals' offense again failed to answer many of the problems that've plagued the team this season, though a strong fourth quarter balanced Petrino's review of the game.
Freshman quarterback Reggie Bonnafon was 12 of 22 for 174 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Brandon Radcliff recorded his second consecutive 100-yard-rushing performance, running 23 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Yet the lingering feeling among the Cardinals' fan base is that the offense has looked nothing like the unit many expected when the team hired Petrino as its new head coach.
Friday's game exposed yet again Louisville's porous offensive line. A slew of penalties wiped out several big or important plays and set Louisville's offense back and back again. Bonnafon was sacked three times and escaped pressure on multiple other occasions.
As a team, Louisville fumbled three times and lost one. The penalties stuck out more, though.
"We're working on it," Petrino said. "We were a little bit better on our cadence, a little bit better at staying onside, but (penalties) cost us two drives."
Louisville committed fewer penalties than last week's Wake Forest game – nine this week vs. 11 last week – but they once again halted several important moments for the Cards.
And for the second consecutive week, the offensive stuttering was only outweighed by a win and another strong defensive performance.
"We're fast and physical," Petrino said. "We have a good understanding of what we're doing and guys don't hesitate."
Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).