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Teams: Syracuse Orange (2-2) vs. Louisville Cardinals (4-1)
Day & Time: Friday, October 3, 7:00 EST
Field: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Line: -2.5 Louisville (opened at -3.5)
TV: ESPN
Announcers: Ryan Ruocco, Danny Kanell
Radio: Syracuse IMG Network, WAER 88.3, Sirius 93/XM 193
Louisville Blog: Card Chronicle
Rivalry: Tied, 6-6
Current Streak: 1, Syracuse
First Meeting: The rivalry got underway in 1985 and the brutish Orangemen destroyed the Cardinals 48-0 in the Carrier Dome.
International Meeting: Syracuse not only beat Louisville in 1987 but they annexed Japan while they were at it. SU defeated the Cardinals in the Coca-Cola Bowl in Tokyo, Japan, 24-13, the only time Syracuse has played outside the U.S.
Last Meeting: The Orange led the No. 9 Cardinals 31-13 at the half and rolled to a 45-26 victory at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 10, 2012. Ryan Nassib passed for 246 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was Alec Lemon, who had nine receptions for 176 yards and two scores.Jerome Smith (144) and Prince-Tyson Gulley (98) paced the SU ground attack. Smith had one rushing TD and Gulley scored twice, including a 55-yard TD run in the second quarter.
Head Coaches: SU: Scott Shafer (2nd Year, 9-8), Louisville: Bobby Petrino (5th Year overall, 45-10)
Curious Connections: Orange defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough and Louisville DC Todd Grantham were members of the same Michigan State coaching staff in 1997- 98. Bullough coached the Spartan defensive backs (1997) and offensive linemen (1998). Grantham was Michigan State’s defensive line coach.
Last Year: In Charlie Strong's final year at the helm, the Cardinals cruised through the AAC to an 11-1 regular-season record. Unfortunately that lone blemish came to UCF, who ended up getting the BCS bid. The Cards settled for the Russell Athletic Bowl where they got to beat up on Miami, which seems to be a thing for them.
Last Game: After a slow start, Louisville avoided disaster by pulling away in the second half for a 20-10 victory over Wake Forest.
"Fear Me, I've Killed Hundreds of Timelords": • Defense has been Louisville’s calling card. The Cardinals lead the nation in rushing defense (58.2 ypg), interceptions (10), rank third in total defense (225.2 ypg) and finish in turnovers gained (13). Meanwhile, The duo of Dominique Brown and Brandon Radcliff have combined for seven rushing TDs. Radcliff posted his first 100-yard game versus Wake, finishing with 129 yards and two TDs.
If Syracuse Wins: They'll get back on track at the perfect time, in front of the home crowd and by defeating a quality opponent.
If Syracuse Loses: The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, off they go, down the street, round and round, wheeeeeeee...
Fun Fact: 20% of Greg Robinson's wins while the head coach at Syracuse came against Louisville. Buffalo and UofL are the only schools he defeated more than once in his four years.
Clemson-esque Motivational Tool: Here's a tweet I've been holding on to from the first week of the season when Louisville looked pretty good after beating Miami.
Wonder if our BC and Syracuse blogs still think they're gonna beat UofL?
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) September 6, 2014
Keep it handy...