Syracuse heads into Saturday night with a lot more uncertainty than momentum. The Orange have dropped 10 straight in ACC play, and after a 28-25 loss at Virginia, they now have to figure out a quarterback situation that’s suddenly a mess.
Amari Odom, who started the week before against UConn, “tore something in his shoulder,” per SU head coach Fran Brown. Against Virginia, Syracuse had to turn to third-string Malachi Nelson and even fourth-string Danny Lauter after Nelson left with a collarbone injury.
Steve Angeli, benched for Odom after two rough games, was also out after getting an injection in his previously torn Achilles tendon. Wednesday’s ACC availability report listed Odom as out and Nelson and Angeli as questionable for Louisville.
So yes, the Orange are walking into this one thin at quarterback. And that matters, because Louisville can score.
The Cardinals come to the JMA Wireless Dome at 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC, having just snapped a skid with a 44-20 win over Florida State. That result featured 537 total yards and reminded everyone what Louisville’s offense can do when it’s rolling.
The Cardinals are second in the ACC behind Miami at 39.5 points per game, with Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz averaging just over 250 passing yards a game. He’s thrown 17 total touchdowns, eight on the ground, with only one interception.
The engine beside him is Isaac Brown, who has rediscovered the form that made him such a force as a freshman in 2024. He went for 125 yards and a touchdown against NC State, then exploded for 235 yards and two scores against Florida State to earn ACC Running Back of the Week.
Brown has 557 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season at 7.5 yards per carry. He has also piled up 1,173 yards as a freshman and earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in that season.
That’s the headline challenge for Syracuse: stop the run, or risk getting run over.
The Orange have already had trouble there. UConn ran for 181 yards against them, much of it in the second half as the Huskies rallied from 20 down to force overtime.
Virginia added 169 rushing yards in Syracuse’s latest defeat. If the Orange can’t tighten that up, Brown could take over Saturday night.
Louisville’s defense gives Syracuse some hope, but not much breathing room. The Cardinals are tied for second-to-last in the ACC in points allowed at 27.7 per game. They aren’t getting burned because of a lack of sacks or turnovers so much as because they keep giving up chunk yardage - 412.8 total yards per game and 257.2 passing yards per game, both second-worst in the league.
That opens the door for a game that could turn into a shootout, depending on who Syracuse has available at quarterback.
The Orange do at least have one recent memory of handling Louisville. The teams haven’t met since 2022, when Syracuse won 31-7.
That day, Sean Tucker ran for 100 yards, caught passes for 84 more and scored twice, while Garrett Shrader passed for 236 yards and two touchdowns and added 94 rushing yards. Syracuse built a 17-7 halftime lead, then pulled away after the break and shut Louisville out the rest of the way.
Louisville still leads the all-time series 13-8, but Syracuse will need another sharp night if it wants to get back to .500. The Orange are 2-3 overall and 0-3 in the ACC. Louisville is 3-3 and 2-2, and even after back-to-back losses earlier in the season, the Cardinals have shown enough firepower to make every game uncomfortable.
One number tells the story pretty plainly: Louisville has scored at least 27 points in every game this year. Syracuse has only reached that mark twice, both times against non-Power Four opponents, and scored fewer than 20 in losses to Cal and Pitt.
If the Orange are going to snap the skid, they’ll need points. And they’ll need someone, anyone, to steady the offense long enough to make Brown and Louisville’s attack chase them.
In Other News...
Syracuse Just Saw How Far It Still Has To Go Under McNamara
Syracuse got a reminder at Mohegan Sun Arena that the rebuild under Adrian Autry still has work to do, even if the first half looked promising. The Orange led Connecticut by five at halftime in an exhibition game, and for stretches their defense gave them a chance to hang around against a high-level opponent despite playing without Aiden Tobiason, who left early with an injury, and Mark Morano.
The second half told the bigger story. Syracuse was outscored badly after the break and never found enough offense to match its effort on the other end, turning what had been a competitive look into a 72-52 loss. For a team still trying to sort out its identity, the game offered a clear picture of both the progress and the distance left to cover. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuses First McNamara Test Exposed A Concern Fans Cant Ignore
The first real look at Syracuse with Kyle McNamara in an exhibition setting came with plenty to unpack, and not much of it was easy. A trip to Mohegan Sun Arena ended in a 72-52 loss to UConn, with the Orange already short-handed before tipoff after freshman Mark Morano sat out because of injury and Aidan Tobiason went down early with a hamstring issue. Even in an exhibition, the matchup offered a useful early snapshot of where this group stands, and it was clear Syracuse had trouble matching UConns physicality.
Ryan Moesch and Sadiq White provided a few bright spots, but the bigger issues were hard to miss. Syracuse struggled to rebound and had a difficult time finding offense against a defense that smothered possessions and turned the game into a grind. For a team still trying to establish its identity under McNamara, the concern is less about one October result than the way the Orange were pushed around in the areas that usually travel best when the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuses First Gerry McNamara Test Raised One Early Concern
The first exhibition under Gerry McNamara offered an early look at what Syracuse wants to be this season: fast, energetic and willing to play at a pace that can make opponents uncomfortable. There were encouraging signs too, including the debut of freshman Ryan Moesch, along with stretches that hinted at where this group can grow as it settles into McNamaras approach.
Still, the loss to UConn also provided a reminder that the Orange are nowhere near a finished product. Syracuse had moments of promise on the glass and around the basket, but the game exposed some familiar unevenness in shooting and rebounding, and the injury to Aiden Tobiason added another layer of concern to an opener that was supposed to be more about evaluation than results. [Read more 🡒]