Louisville heads to Syracuse on Saturday riding the momentum from a convincing 44-20 win over Florida State, and the Cardinals will be trying to string together back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Jeff Brohm’s team is now 3-3 overall and 2-2 in ACC play, and while the road has not been friendly so far, this trip offers a chance to change that.
The Cardinals are 0-2 away from home, with losses to NC State and Ole Miss in Week 1 on a neutral field, but they enter this one as a two-touchdown favorite over the Orange. Syracuse is still searching for its first conference win at 0-3 in ACC play, which makes Saturday a game Louisville needs to handle if Brohm wants to keep any realistic hope of a run at the ACC Championship Game alive.
One of the biggest reasons Louisville has looked so dangerous lately has been Isaac Brown. The preseason All-American has now posted 125-plus rushing yards in consecutive games, just the second time he has done that in his career.
Against Florida State, he ripped off the longest play in program history with a 97-yard touchdown and finished with 313 all-purpose yards, including a 71-yard kickoff return. That kind of burst has turned the offense loose, and the expectation here is that Brown keeps rolling with another big night against Syracuse.
The prediction is simple: Brown gets into the end zone again and piles up another massive stat line, with 150-plus yards on the ground. A line of 17 carries for 155 yards and two touchdowns would fit the way Louisville has leaned on him over the last couple of weeks.
Louisville’s defense has its own game-wrecker in Clev Lubin, and he has been one of the most disruptive players in the country this season. He has four sacks, two forced fumbles and 26 tackles, and he leads college football with 12 quarterback pressures.
Syracuse has had trouble keeping quarterbacks clean, ranking 81st in the league at 2.0 sacks allowed per game, including three surrendered against Cal and two against Pitt. That sets up another busy afternoon for Lubin, who is projected to finish with at least two sacks and constant pressure.
If Louisville gets Brown rolling and Lubin wrecking plays on defense, the Cardinals should be in position to keep stacking points. Louisville has scored 40 or more in four of its six games, and another outing in that range feels very much in play against Syracuse.
In Other News...
Jeff Brohm's Louisville Vision Could Soon Feel A Lot More Real
The College Football Playoff is reportedly moving closer to a bigger field, with expansion from 12 teams to 24 starting in 2027 now seeming increasingly likely if the final approvals come through. For Louisville, that is more than a headline about the sports power structure. It is the kind of shift that can change how a program like Jeff Brohms is judged, because the Cardinals have already shown they can hang around the top of the ACC conversation when they are operating at a high level.
Brohm has made it clear since arriving in Louisville that the goal is not just relevance, but sustained contention, and a larger playoff would give that vision a little more breathing room. The Cardinals would still have to earn everything on the field, of course, but the path to the postseason could look less like a perfect-season-or-bust proposition and more like something a consistent ACC contender can realistically chase. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Offense Faces One Syracuse Weakness That Could Change Everything
Syracuses defense has taken a step forward under new coordinator Vince Kehres, the former Toledo assistant who has helped steady a unit that now looks more organized in several key areas. The Orange have been better against the pass and have gotten useful work from players such as Keyshawn Johnson, Tunmise Adeleye, Chris DAppolonia and Antoine Deslauriers, giving Louisville a sturdier challenge than it might have expected earlier in the season.
Even so, one vulnerability still hangs over the matchup, and it is the kind Louisvilles offense is built to test. Safety Chris Peal has had coverage issues, especially when the ball goes deep, leaving Syracuse with a spot the Cardinals can try to exploit if they push the field vertically and force the Oranges improved defense to hold up in the one area that has not fully settled in yet. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Enters The Season With More ACC Respect Than Fans Expected
Louisville is heading into the season with a little more league-wide respect than many around the program may have expected. The Cardinals were picked to finish third in the ACC preseason poll, and the conference coaches also gave the roster some notable individual recognition, placing junior forward Flory Bidunga on the Preseason All-ACC First Team and senior guard Jackson Shelstad on the Second Team.
For a team trying to turn preseason belief into something more lasting, that kind of placement matters. Bidunga and Shelstad give Louisville proven talent at two important spots, and their past production and honors help explain why the Cardinals are being viewed as more than just another upper-tier ACC team. The bigger question now is how quickly that attention turns into results once the games start. [Read more 🡒]