Syracuse got plenty of production in Saturday’s 34-26 loss to Louisville, but not enough of it came in the right stretches.
Back at the JMA Wireless Dome for the first time since Sept. 12, the Orange showed flashes on offense, fought through some strong defensive moments and even saw a more stable outing from special teams. Still, the result was the same: another loss, this time a close one to the Cardinals.
The most obvious bright spot came at receiver, where Umari Hatcher was practically unstoppable. He piled up 224 yards and a touchdown on 13 catches, repeatedly giving Syracuse a downfield outlet and a way to stay in the game.
Freshman Calvin Russell III added six receptions and scored his first career touchdown, while Daunte Bacheyie chipped in 29 yards on five catches. As a unit, Syracuse finished with 339 receiving yards, a clear sign the passing game held up its end.
Malachi Nelson was at the center of it all again. Starting for the second straight game, the third-string quarterback opened fast and hit Hatcher for scores of 65 and 41 yards on Syracuse’s first two drives. He kept the offense rolling through the first half, directing four scoring drives and three touchdowns, and added a 24-yard touchdown pass to Russell.
But the second half told a different story. As it did a week earlier at Virginia, Syracuse’s offense bogged down after the break.
Nelson was responsible for three turnovers, including a muffed handoff and two interceptions into heavy traffic. One of those picks came with no Orange receiver in the area.
He still finished with 315 passing yards, but he didn’t finish the game; Georgetown transfer Danny Lauter came in for a last-ditch drive with 1:05 left, and Syracuse’s nine-play march ended on a turnover on downs.
The running game had its moments too, led by Ahmad Miller. The Jackson State transfer handled the bigger workload and turned it into 123 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, including a tough 20-yard score late in the second quarter. Tylik Hill was less involved than he had been in previous weeks, finishing with 26 yards on 11 carries.
That group also took part in one of the game’s most damaging sequences. After Syracuse rushed for 84 yards in the first half, it managed only four in the third quarter. The Orange’s scoreless third period included a fumble on a third-and-2 at the Louisville 7, when Nelson and Hill were not on the same page and the ball hit the turf.
Up front, the line had its hands full. Louisville forced 11 tackles for loss and five sacks, and Syracuse kept rotating bodies there, with eight offensive linemen playing at least 12 snaps according to Pro Football Focus. Left tackle Trevion Mack posted the group’s best mark at 72.1, but no other Orange lineman graded above 60.6.
Defensively, Syracuse had a mixed day. The front held Isaac Brown to 11 yards on nine carries, but Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and the other Brown, Keyjuan, did major damage.
Kienholz ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, including an 82-yard score, while Keyjuan Brown added 50 yards and two touchdowns on 13 attempts. Even so, Syracuse’s defensive line still produced 11 tackles for loss and three sacks.
The linebackers were the steadier part of the defense. Keyshawn Johnson earned the top defensive grade on the team from PFF at 83.5, and Syracuse got a big outing from Chris D’Appolonia with Antoine Deslauriers sidelined. D’Appolonia made seven solo tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss, and the group helped limit Louisville to six second-half points.
In the secondary, Davien Kerr was the headline act. He came away with two interceptions and a sack, doing a little bit of everything.
Chris Peal also turned in a strong coverage effort with a 77.2 grade. But the overall picture wasn’t clean enough, as Kienholz still threw for 310 yards on only 14 completions, with four passes going for 35 yards or more.
Special teams, at least, avoided the usual drama. Freshman Shay Barker made both of his field-goal attempts from 26 and 24 yards, and the only miss came on a PAT after a 15-yard penalty pushed the try back. For once, kicking wasn’t the Orange’s biggest headache.
The bigger issue was the same one Syracuse keeps running into: an inability to put together four solid quarters. The Orange had 23 points in the first half, then only three after halftime. The defense tightened up after the break, but the offense stalled, and the coaches were left with another game where Syracuse had chances and didn’t finish.
The final tally left the Orange with a 2-4 record, 0-4 in the Atlantic Coast, after another loss that felt there to be taken.
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