MEETING INFO:
When: Saturday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m.
Where: JMA Wireless Dome
Watch: ACC Network
Meeting History: Louisville is 13-8 all-time versus Syracuse
Last Meeting: (9/3/2022) Louisville 7, Syracuse 31
Last Friday, Louisville snapped their two game skid with a comeback win against Florida State. The Cardinals trailed 14-0 early and forced a Seminoles turnover on downs inside the Louisville 5-yard line, which led to the Cardinals going on a 44-6 run to rout the Noles.
Saturday, Louisville has an opportunity to build off of this momentum against a struggling Syracuse squad.
A Look at Louisville:
Head Coach Jeff Brohm handed off play calling duties to offensive coordinator Brian Brohm ahead of the Florida State game, and that will continue following a successful outing.
The Cardinals poured 44 points on the Seminoles and did so in a run-heavy way. Louisville rushed for just shy of 400 total yards and amassed 537 yards of offense.
Junior RB Isaac Brown had an outing that put the country on notice, gaining over 300 total all-purpose yards. Brown rushed for 235 yards, scoring from 97 and 68 yards out, winning Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week and ACC Running Back of the Week honors. A Brohm offense is typically reliant on the passing game, and we may be seeing a change in strategy. Louisville ran the ball 43 times against Florida State, a season high.
Junior QB Lincoln Kienholz only threw 15 times, completing 11 passes for 140 yards. For the first five games of the season, Kienholz averaged 28 attempts per game. Following the Florida State game, Brohm stated that they were going to work to feed Isaac Brown the ball more. So, the ground game approach may not be going anywhere, as long as it’s effective. The Cardinals currently rank as having the 11th ranked rushing offense in the nation, averaging 232 yards per game.
With the weakest aspect of Syracuse’s defense being stopping the run, the Louisville backfield may be due for another big day.
A Look at Syracuse:
The Syracuse Orange enter with a 2-3 record, while being 0-3 in conference play. Last Saturday, they fell 28-25 to Virginia in a game they led by 10 at half. The Orange opened the season with a 66-3 victory over New Hampshire, but followed it with a narrow loss to California and a 27-13 defeat at Pittsburgh. Syracuse bounced back with a 42-41 overtime win over UConn before playing Virginia.
Syracuse enters Saturday with a question mark at how they will handle the quarterback position. Head coach Fran Brown is preparing to start third-string QB Malachi Nelson.
Senior Steve Angeli started the first three games of the season before being sidelined after reaggravating his Achilles. Angeli has been questionable all week and is now expected to sit this game out while he continues treatment. Junior Kennesaw State transfer Amari Odom stepped in Angeli’s place against UConn, where he threw for 5 touchdowns and 335 yards in the victory. However, Odom suffered a shoulder injury and missed the game against Virginia. He will also miss this game as well. Finally, junior Malachi Nelson, who started against UVA, exited the game in the late fourth quarter due to an upper-body injury. Despite this, Nelson is expected to start against Louisville.
Nelson, the former five-star quarterback, made his first start last week and finished going 16-29 for 217 yards and a touchdown. Last season, he played at UTEP, throwing for 1,163 yards with 8 TDs and 9 INTs in six games.
Aside from the quarterback carousel, Syracuse has two players you need to know on offense.
First is sophomore RB Tylik Hill. Through four games, Hill has 405 yards rushing on 69 carries, ranking second in the ACC in yards per game (101.0). The sophomore is coming off of the best games of his young career, picking up 140 yards against UConn and 118 against Virginia. He averaged about 26 carries in both of those games, earning ACC Running Back of the Week honors against the Huskies. With the injury bug hitting the QB room, expect Hill to get a lot of touches Saturday.
Second is senior WR Umari Hatcher, who is top-five in the conference in multiple categories. Hatcher ranks fourth in the ACC in receiving yards (604) and tied for first with Miami’s Malachi Toney in touchdowns (6). Through five games, he has three 100-yard performances. Versus UConn, Hatcher had 12 catches for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns, winning the ACC Wide Receiver of the Week award. Also, the senior was recently named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, which recognizes the season’s most outstanding FBS receivers.
Defensively, Syracuse ranks 33rd nationally in total defense, allowing 311.4 yards per game (which is fifth in the ACC). The Orange’s biggest strength is pass defense, ranking 20th in average passing yards allowed and 25th in passing efficiency defense. Also, they rank 35th in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert just 32.2% of their attempts. However, their biggest weakness is stopping the run. As alluded to, Syracuse ranks 76th nationally in rush defense. In their last three games, the Orange have given up three rushing scores in each of them. In those games (Pitt, UConn, and Virginia), Syracuse allowed an average of nearly 200 yards on the ground.
Keys for the Cardinals:
- If It’s Not Broke, Don’t Stop Running: Jeff Brohm handed the keys to his offense to his brother last week, and it was a success. Deviating from their normal formula, the Cardinal offense only passed the ball 15 times, and ran over 40 times. Last week, Louisville rushed for nearly 400 yards with 6 touchdowns on the ground. With Syracuse struggling lately in this aspect, the Brohms should continue to dial Isaac Brown’s number for a heavy workload.
- Defensive Momentum: The greatest liability of the 2026 season has been Louisville’s defense, which ranks 123rd nationally in yards per game allowed and 103rd in points per game allowed. However, that unit put together its best three quarters of football last week. Following the goal-line stop versus Florida State, the defense only allowed the Seminoles to score on 1/8 of their remaining possessions. Going up against a Syracuse team with a QB uncertainty, the defense has a chance to build off of that momentum and turn things around.
Game Prediction:
Louisville 38, Syracuse 17