Game Day: Louisville at Syracuse

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (3-3, 2-2) at SYRACUSE ORANGE (2-3, 0-3)

Game Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: JMA Wireless Dome: Syracuse, N.Y.

Television: ACC Network

Announcers: Jorge Sedano (play-by-play), Rodney McLeod Jr (analyst), and Annabelle Hasselbeck (sidelines)

Favorite: Louisville by 14.5

All-Time Series: Louisville leads, 13-8

Last Meeting: Syracuse won 31-7 on Sept. 3, 2022 in Syracuse

Series History:

Statistics:

Depth Chart:

Not available.

Injury Reports:

Louisville Uniforms:

Syracuse Uniforms:

Not revealed.

Relevant Videos:

About Syracuse:

via Keith Wynne

OFFENSE

Fran Brown led the Syracuse football program to 10 wins in his first season, and he’s been trying to get back to that standard ever since. Brown has had a string of tough injuries that have hindered his ability to get things back on track, but his teams compete well, and he has done a good job of bringing in good talent to a place that is not easy to recruit.

It will be up in the air for which quarterback the Cards face this weekend as the Orange have been killed by injuries again at the position. Steve Angeli was the opening day starter, but he has been ineffective on top of being hurt. Malachi Nelson was forced into action last weekend as the third-stringer. Amari Odom was who I initially thought would start, but it sounds like Angeli is back to practicing this week.

(UPDATE: Nelson will start)

Angeli was a revelation last season for the Orange as he started the season with 10 touchdown passes and 329 yards per game before he was lost for the season in their fifth game. He returned as the starter this year, but he has not been the same player. Angeli has completed 49% of his passes with one touchdown and five picks against FBS competition. He was benched in favor of Odom, and I would argue that Malachi Nelson looked better in his limited time.

This offense wants to throw the ball around, but they do a good job of getting their running backs going in the running game as well. Tylik Hill and his 101 rushing yards per game lead this group of backs who share the workload. Hill is a back with solid speed, but his vision and ability to find seams on interior runs is very good. He has broken a handful of explosive runs this year, where he has shown patience to find a path through the defense to get himself into open space.

Ahmad Miller and Shavane Anderson are very capable backups. Miller is the short-yardage back, but he has also had a few chunk plays in the open field this year. Anderson is a true freshman who comes in as one of the best players in the history of New Jersey football. He is a solid balance of the other two backs, but it stands out to me that he runs very hard for a freshman. These three players have been good for the Orange, and the Cards will have to continue to play the run well this weekend.

The Orange have a handful of solid receivers, led by Umari Hatcher on the outside. The 6-3/190 veteran has been outstanding this season, as he leads the ACC in touchdowns. Hatcher is also ranked in the top five in just about every other receiver statistic. He is consistently putting up big games for the Orange, and it’s obvious that the offense is featuring him as each quarterback makes him the main target.

Justus Ross-Simmons is the second-leading receiver on the team, and he is another big receiver on the outside. The Orange don’t have a lot of speed at receiver, but Ross-Simmons is a solid deep threat. Daunte Bacheiye has also been a reliable deep threat for the team. He is listed as a tight end, but he’s played on the outside a lot this year. Five-star freshman Calvil Russell could also see his role expand as he comes back from an injury.

For the second straight week, the Cards’ edge rushers will have the chance to go up against an offensive tackle who has struggled this season. Kam Pringle is among the national leaders in pressures allowed, per PFF. The Cards were able to pressure the quarterback 8 times last weekend against Xavier Chaplan, who is the left tackle for FSU. As this defense adjusts to the more aggressive plan that we saw last weekend, we should see them taking advantage of these matchups. The Cuse line has given up too many pressures as a group, but Pringle’s performance has been particularly egregious.

DEFENSE

Fran Brown lost his defensive coordinator this offseason, but he arguably made an upgrade when he brought in Vince Kehres from Toledo. Kerhes led an outstanding group during his time at Toledo, and he did a very good job mining talent for a school that wasn’t playing big-time football. The Cuse defense looks improved early on this season, but the competition they have faced has not been exceptional. This group will have to step it up against a powerful Louisville offense.

The Cuse defense has gotten nice production from their edge defenders up front. Keyshawn Johnson and Tunmise Adeleye have combined for 7 tackles for loss and sacks this year, while combining for 29 total pressures. They combine with Nissi Ogbebor at defensive tackle to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback while also being solid against the run. Rashard Berry rounds out this group with his 4 tackles for loss to go along with one of the better big-man interceptions of the season.

Linebacker is the strength of the defense with two players who make up one of the best duos in the ACC. Chris D’Appolonia and Antoine Deslauriers have been very good for the Orange, racking up tackles and tackles for loss through the first half of the season. D’Appolonia was a nice addition for this defense as he followed Kerhes from Toledo after a very good season. Deslauriers was one of the best freshmen linebackers in the country last year, and he has picked up where he left off. These two will have their hands full if Louisville can continue to run the ball as they have over the last two weeks.

Syracuse has one of the best pass defenses in the country, with top 15 rankings in completion percentage and yards per attempt. They make teams work to complete passes, and they do a good job of keeping things in front of them to avoid big plays. Cuse has only allowed 30 passing plays for ten or more yards this year. That’s top-10 in the country and much better than a Wake Forest defense that put the clamps on Louisville’s explosive offense.

The individual players don’t stand out much for Cuse, but Davien Kerr flashes when you watch their games. The nickel corner has good speed and plays with the type of intensity you need as an interior defender. He has the lone interception by the secondary, and it came on a nice play where he jumped a route.

Chris Peal is second on the team in tackles from his safety spot, but he has been the one player that I have seen struggle in coverage this year. Peal has been beaten deep twice in man coverage down the field, while he was lined up in more of a cornerback alignment. It’s something to look out for on Saturday night, as the Cards will look for ways to push the ball down the field on the Orange.

Motivational Tweets:

Excitement Level: 6.9

Would not hate if this one were being played earlier in the day, but it’s the last Cardinal football we’re getting for 14 days so I’m trying to embrace it.

Game Attire: Black Rhoback Cardinal athletic hoodie

Running it back.

Pregame Meal: Pizza

We’re hanging with the parents/grandparents before kickoff.

Bold Prediction: Louisville intercepts 3+ passes in this game

Malachi Nelson has never seen a risky throw he’s been willing to pass up.

Jeff Brohm Trick Play Alert Level: Violet (Solidly Below Average)

“Tick” has finally been re-corrected to “Trick.” That’s all the alert level has to say for this week.

Predicted Star of the Game: Isaac Brown

I will now be picking him until he does not live up to the billing.

Notable:

—Syracuse has lost 10 consecutive ACC games. The Orange’s last league win was a 34-21 triumph over Clemson on Sept. 20, 2025.

—Syracuse is 1-12 (11 straight losses) vs. Power 4 teams since the start of the 2025 season, allowing 37.5 points per game over that stretch.

—Louisville has won seven of its last nine games against Syracuse, which have all come as members of the ACC. The Cardinals have won those seven games by a combined score of 314-98, including 71-3 in its last two wins.

—The Cardinals have lost two consecutive road games against the Orange.

—Louisville is 5-5 all-time in road games against Syracuse.

—Syracuse will be celebrating Family Weekend on Saturday.

—Louisville is 0-1 in true road games so far this season, and 0-2 in games away from L&N Stadium.

—Syracuse is the only FBS team that has already started three different quarterbacks so far this season.

—After struggling with penalties to start the season, the Cardinals have committed just seven over the last two games.

—Saturday will mark Syracuse’s first home game since Sept. 12.

—Syracuse ranks sixth in the FBS in time of possession, controlling possession for an average of 34:05 per game.

—Jeff Brohm is 0-1 in games against Syracuse, falling to the Orange during his tenure at Purdue.

—Syracuse head coach Fran Brown will be coaching against Louisville for the first time.

—Louisville OL coach Dale Williams spent two seasons at Syracuse as the offensive line coach from 2024-25.

—Syracuse TE Noah Meyers is from Louisville, KY and played his high school ball at Trinity. Prior to transferring to SU this January, Meyers attended Western Kentucky.

—Louisville has been the most explosive offense in the country through the first six weeks of the season. The Cardinals have already racked up 44 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more, three more than anyone else in the FBS. Louisville leads the country in plays from scrimmage of 20+, 30+, 40+, 50+ and 60+ yards.

—The Cardinals have already scored 10 touchdowns of 50 yards or more as well, with at least one in all six games. Those eight touchdowns have been scored by five different players.

—Syracuse ranks third in the ACC in pass defense, allowing just 168.2 passing yards per game.

—Syracuse fans will be given rally towels before Saturday night’s game.

—Lincoln Kienholz is one of only three quarterbacks to rush for multiple touchdowns three times during his Louisville career, joining Lamar Jackson and Malik Cunningham.

—Syracuse head coach Fran Brown is a perfect 4-0 in overtime games.

—Louisville safety Kaleb Beasley ranks second in the nation in interceptions with four.

—Louisville ranks 11th in the nation and first in the ACC in rushing offense, averaging 231.7 yards per game on the ground.

—Seven of Louisville last eight losses have come by three points or fewer. All three of U of L’s losses this season have come by exactly three points.

—Louisville has scored at least 24 points in 31 of its last 33 games.

—Louisville is 221-199-5 all-time in games played in the month of October.

—Under Jeff Brohm, Louisville is 7-5 in the month of October.

—Louisville is 9-11 all-time in games played on Oct. 17. The Cardinals’ most recent appearance on the date was a 24-21 win at Miami last season.

—Louisville is 15-2 in ACC regular season games under Jeff Brohm when allowing fewer than 30 points.

—Louisville is 55-47 all-time in ACC games, and 18-10 in ACC games under Jeff Brohm.

—The state of New York has produced one Kentucky Derby winner: Funny Cide in 2003.

—Louisville is one of just five FBS programs scheduled to play 11 power conference opponents in 2026.

—Louisville is one of only seven power conference programs to win at least nine games in each of the last three years.

—Louisville has won 50 consecutive games when shutting out its opponent in the second half.

—Syracuse is just 6-of-13 on field goal attempts so far this season.

—Under Jeff Brohm, Louisville is 17-2 in games in which it rushes for 200 yards or more. One of those losses came two weeks ago against NC State.

—Louisville is one of eight FBS teams to score in every game it has played for the last 26 years, joining Boise State, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Southern California, Texas Christian, and Virginia Tech.

—Louisville is 16-1 under head coach Jeff Brohm when it doesn’t commit a turnover, with the lone loss coming earlier this season against Ole Miss.

—Louisville is 20-1 under Jeff Brohm when it wins the turnover battle and 11-14 when it doesn’t.

—Louisville is 25-3 over the past five seasons when shutting out its opponent in the first quarter.

—Louisville has won 40 of its last 45 games when holding teams to less than 300 yards of offense.

—Louisville has won 18 straight games when holding its opponent scoreless in the first half.

—Since 2019, Louisville is 39-5 when winning the turnover battle, and just 8-28 when losing it.

—Louisville is 27-3 under Jeff Brohm when allowing fewer than 30 points.

—Louisville is 213-17 all-time when scoring 35 or more points in a game.

—Louisville is 145-4 all-time when scoring 40 or more points in a game, including an 86-3 mark since 2000. The Cards are 6-124 all-time when allowing opponents to score 40 or more points.

—Louisville is currently riding a consecutive game scoring streak that spans 333 games dating back to a 31-0 loss to Florida State during the 2000 season. The streak ranks as the second longest in the ACC behind only Virginia Tech, and the 8th-longest nationally.

Quotable:

—”Going to Syracuse has always been difficult to play. When I was at Purdue, we lost up there as well. It’s loud. They get into the game. … Syracuse can play football. They can coach. They got good players.” —Jeff Brohm

—”Thankful we get the opportunity to play against Louisville at the Dome. Getting a chance to come back home after being away for the last three weeks. Really, it’s been a month due to the bye week. So, excited for the opportunity we have to come back to the Dome.” —Syracuse head coach Fran Brown

—“I think we’re all super excited to be playing back back at home and back in that environment and hopefully getting a dub for the school.” —Syracuse OL Trevion Mack

—“We’ve just got one goal this week: Beat Louisville. Practice hard and beat Louisville.” —Syracuse RB Tylik Hill

—”We’ve been able to run the ball a little bit better these past few weeks from playing different guys. We’re going to do the same thing on the defensive side of the ball. We have to continue to build depth, bring other guys on (the field), and it brings out the best in the players to be detailed, execute, and finish.” —Syracuse head coach Fran Brown

—”It’s hard to neutralize what they do. They’ve got two really good running backs: Brown and Brown – both of those guys are the truth.” —Syracuse head coach Fran Brown

—”It’s a one-game season. Anybody can win on a given Saturday. If we don’t play well, take care of the ball, eliminate mistakes and penalties, we’re not going to win. That’s how the game works.” —Jeff Brohm

Card Chronicle Prediction: Louisville 38, Syracuse 19