Louisville Falls Flat in Season-Opener at Syracuse
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - It's safe to say that the Louisville football program's 2022 season could have started on a much better note.
Kicking off their new campaign on the road in upstate New York, the Cardinals were unable to parlay their offseason buzz into on-field results, falling 31-7 to ACC rival Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome.
It marked Louisville's (0-1, 0-1 ACC) first loss to the Orange (1-0, 1-0 ACC) since 2018, snapping a three-game winning streak against them. Louisville had won by an average of 30.0 points during their streak against Cuse, and entered their opener as five-point road favorites.
Throughout the game, Louisville looked disjointed on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Not only did the offense have trouble establishing any sort of consistent rhythm, but the defense had trouble wrapping up and tackling Syracuse ballcarriers.
There was a massive discrepancy at the quarterback position. Louisville's Malik Cunningham went 16-of-22 for 152 yards and two interceptions, with Syracuse's Garrett Shrader going 18-of-25 for 237 and two touchdowns.
The run game played a large factor in the Orange victory. Shrader ran for a team-best 105 yards and a touchdown, with star running back Sean Tucker also cracking the century mark with 102 yards and a score. Tucker also had six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Conversely, Louisville's offensive weapons were largely non-existent outside of running back Tiyon Evans and wide receiver Tyler Hudson. Evans had 91 yards and a score, and Hudson had eight receptions for 102 yards a touchdown. Beyond those two, no one had any real impact.
The Orange set the tone early, thanks to a much-improved passing effort from Shrader, and Tucker's abilities as a runner and receiver. Cuse struck first with a 31-yard field goal on their first drive, then followed that up with 55-yard screen to Tucker to take an early 10-0 lead.
Louisville's second time out was their only first half drive in which their offense could find any sort of groove, one which ended with a 36-yard scoring run from Evans. Syracuse then responded with a methodical 12-play drive, with Shrader punching it in from four yards out to extend their lead back out to 10.
The Cardinals also responded by marching down the field, with a Smith-to-Hudson trick play putting Louisville on the goal line. But the drive stalled there, and a failed fourth-and-goal conversation saw them come away with no points.
Three Syracuse false starts derailed their ensuing drive, preventing the Orange from capitalizing on the momentum. Louisville also couldn't get anything going on their final drive of the half, one that saw offensive lineman Renato Brown ejected for targeting.
What little groove the offense had in the first half went out the window in the second half. The Cardinals punted on their opening drive, the Cunningham proceed to throw interceptions on the next two times out. The first pick was great play by Orange DB Garrett Williams in the end zone, whereas the second was a bad read in the middle of the field.
Syracuse was unable to score in the third quarter due to more penalties and drops by wide receivers, but found pay dirt early in the fourth quarter. Thanks to a short field as a result of Cunningham's second pick, the Orange didn't have far to go, with Shrader finding a wide open Oronde Gadsden for an eight-yard touchdown.
Any hope of a fourth quarter comeback was quickly dashed. Cunningham turned the ball over on a third straight drive, this time fumbling to give Syracuse another short field. The Orange only needed 25 yards to to score again, with Shrader rushing from six yards out for the touchdown.
Next up, Louisville will stay on the road and travel to Orlando for a matchup with UCF. Kickoff against the Knights is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Tiyon Evans: Mark Konezny - USA TODAY Sports)
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