Cards' defense leads the way into Syracuse

Bobby Petrino's answered the question a few times in varying forms.

Is the University of Louisville football team's defense better than he thought it'd be? Did he think it'd be this far ahead of the offense through September?

On Wednesday, as Petrino previewed Louisville's 7 p.m. Friday game at Syracuse, he tackled the proposition again.

"When you go through spring ball and you go through camp, and you're going against each other every day, there was no question that our defense was getting the upper hand on the offense," Petrino said.

"Offensively, we've just struggled. We haven't had the consistency that we need to be able to execute and go score points on a consistent basis."

That's why Louisville's defense again is the key to the Cardinals' next game, a tricky road test in the cavernous Carrier Dome on national television (ESPN) after a short week.

A year after losing two first-round NFL draft picks, a star middle linebacker and a defense-oriented coaching staff, Louisville's defensive unit is once again among the best in the country.

Through five games, Louisville (4-1) ranks first in the nation in run defense, 16th in pass defense, ninth in scoring defense and third in total defense.

The Cardinals are also fifth in the nation in takeaways.

No other FBS team ranks in the top 20 in all five of those categories.

Only Texas Christian University, which has played three games so far, ranks in the top 25 in all five.

And only U of L, TCU, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Mississippi rank in the top 50 in the same group of stats.

"They are certainly as good as advertised," Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said after Louisville's 20-10 win over his team last weekend.

"They gave us absolute fits."

Louisville hopes it can give Syracuse (2-2) the same problems on Friday night. And perhaps the Orange's offensive credibility, at least in the running game, will add more clout to Louisville's defensive numbers.

As great as Louisville and its defensive stats have been, the Cards have yet to play a team with a top-40 passing or rushing offense.

Syracuse's rushing attack, averaging 232.5 yards a game, ranks 25th in the nation.

The Orange have a dual-threat quarterback in Terrel Hunt, who leads the team in rushing yards (299) and rushing touchdowns (6).

U of L defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, hired away from the University of Georgia to join Petrino's Louisville staff this past winter, detailed this week the challenge of facing Syracuse's run-heavy offense.

If Louisville's pass rushers get too far into the backfield, and the secondary is too far downfield with Syracuse receivers, Hunt's likely to take off and exploit the "vertical separation" they've created, Grantham said.

Syracuse coach Scott Shafer responded with his own team's concerns, praising Grantham multiple times on Wednesday.

"He does a great job presenting different looks for the offense to attack, and then that scheme is backed up with very good football players," Shafer said.

"When you take a smart defensive coordinator and couple it with great athletes, you see that No.1 rush defense in the country. It'll be a great challenge for us, and we look forward to it."

Notre Dame, the 27th-ranked rush defense in the country, held Hunt to 26 rushing yards in a 31-15 win last Saturday. The Irish, who didn't record a sack in the game, kept Syracuse to 135 rushing yards as a team, averaging 4.5 yards a carry.

Instead, Syracuse had to pass the ball, something the Orange doesn't particularly do well. Hunt threw for 294 yards, by far a season high, but tossed one interception and zero touchdown passes.

So perhaps that's the formula for U of L. And perhaps it's a chance for the Cardinals' defense to put on a display on national television for a second time this season.

They just need the Cards' offense to score some points and hold onto the ball.

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and get his regular updates on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).