Week 7 of the college football season was a wonky one. Three of the top five teams in the US LBM coaches poll lost, including top-ranked Georgia. Third-ranked Miami needed two overtimes to beat rival Florida State. Louisville, too, was at risk of falling victim to an upset. The Cards hadn't won at Syracuse in 10 years and were making their first trip to Upstate New York since 2022.
The Orange's early 10-0 lead suggested Louisville's losing trend would continue. But the Cards made timely plays on both sides of the ball at different points in the game and will go into the Week 8 bye with a 34-26 win over Syracuse.
Louisville totaled 425 yards of total offense, with quarterback Lincoln Kienholz contributing his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season with 310 yards and a touchdown against two interceptions on 14-for-26 passing. He also made history with an 82-yard rushing touchdown — the longest by a quarterback in school history — but was only credited with 53 rushing yards after getting sacked three times and recording a negative run.
The South Dakota native had been playing with an undisclosed injury over the past few weeks and said that he "felt probably 95-97% (healthy) going into this game." Having an open week will help him get the final 3-5% with the Cardinals hosting Stanford on the other side of the bye.
"Each week it's getting better," Kienholz said, "and the bye week is just going to help. The more treatment I'll get in next week and the rest on my body a little bit, we'll be good to go."
Here are three takeaways from the Cards' win over the Orange:
Louisville's imperfect defense made necessary plays
Umari Hatcher had a career day against Louisville, totaling 224 yards and a touchdown on 13 receptions. He opened the game with a 65-yard reception, then had a 41-yard touchdown catch on the second drive of the contest. Although the Cardinals struggled to contain Hatcher, his yardage didn't always guarantee points. Louisville's defense held Syracuse under its season average of 31.7 points per game and didn't give up a touchdown in the second half.
The Cardinals were able to get pressure on Orange quarterback Malachi Nelson, who left late in the game with what appeared to be a lower leg injury. They notched a season-high five sacks, with two coming from Tyler Thompson. Louisville has dialed up the pressure more over the last two weeks and benefitted with nine sacks. The unit had eight over the first five weeks of the regular season.
"I think someone on our staff has done a study that anytime you get a sack, it's a 92% chance that they (opposing team) don't score," said Thompson, who also had a fumble recovery. "So, sacks are definitely important in the negative plays, and they take away the offense's momentum."
Thompson's fumble recovery was one of three turnovers the Cardinals used to keep Syracuse at bay. Kaleb Beasley recorded his fifth interception of the season, while Cam White had his first career pick.
Brohm backs off offense again
For the second straight week, UofL coach Jeff Brohm said he didn't call the offense and left it in the hands of offensive coordinator and younger brother, Brian. Earlier in the week, Jeff Brohm expressed full confidence in Brian Brohm's ability to be the offense's play-caller.
"We've got defensive guys and offensive guys that help put the plan together," the elder Brohm said. "For sure, during the week, we go over it in thorough detail. I'll give a few suggestions, but kind of have to let your guys call and work through that."
Syracuse stuffed the run at times, holding Cards running back Isaac Brown to 11 yards on nine carries. Keinholz also threw a career-worst two interceptions. But Louisville was still as explosive as ever, recording eight passing plays of 15 or more yards and three rushing plays of 10 or more yards.
Jeff Brohm also left the defense to co-defensive coordinators Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis, who led a Cards' defense that only gave up three second-half points.
Louisville's kicking game arises as issue against Syracuse
The Cardinals' special teams unit has been serviceable so far this season.
But it showed weakness against Syracuse. Punter Niall Hayes sent one out of bounds after just 30 yards in the fourth quarter and mustered only 38 yards on his last boot of the night. His 39 yards per punt against the Orange — aided by punts of 45 and 47 yards in the third period — was just below his season average of 40 yards per punt.
Carson Hilbert also missed an extra point on Louisville's last touchdown of the game, which kept the contest at a one-score margin. Kicking was a concern during fall camp but seemed to have improved over the course of the season. It became of concern for the first time during the regular season in Week 7.
Brohm wasn't pleased with Hayes' performance and noted there are things that the Cardinals need to "tighten up."
"We've just got to identify those and try to be more efficient the entire game in all three segments," he said.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What we learned from Louisville football's ACC win over Syracuse