Syracuse vs. Louisville: Cardinals open as 13-point favorites & line keeps rising

The Syracuse Orange offense put on a show Friday night when they racked up 437 passing yards and cruised to a 33-7 victory over the Colgate Raiders. While there were still plenty of question marks and concerns, it was clear that the 2016 version of the SU offense is going to be way more exciting than anything we've seen in years past.

That said, the Louisville Cardinals looked five times better. The Cardinals opened their season with a 70-14 decimation of the Charlotte 49ers. Quarterback Lamar Jackson scored eight total touchdowns (six by air, two by ground) in the first half (!!!) before Bobby Petrino called off the dogs. Honestly, the Cardinals probably could have scored 100 if they wanted to. They outgained Charlotte 659 yards to 208 and converted 38 first downs to Charlotte's 12. Charlotte never converted a third down the entire game.

And so, let it be no surprise that the Cardinals will come into the Carrier Dome this week as heavy favorites. Oddshark started them out as 13-point favorites and as of Sunday afternoon they're already up to 14.5.

Syracuse might be able to put some points up given the abilities of guys like Amba Etta-Tawo, Steve Ishmael, and Ervin Phillips but it's a very tall order to ask them to keep pace with what Louisville can do. We're better than Charlotte, but, well, our defense has it's work cut out for it.