Hoping to get back in the right direction with Cardinals legend Lamar Jackson in town for his jersey retirement, the Louisville football program was able to strike fast and often against Syracuse, using an overwhelming first half to come out on top 41-3 Saturday at Cardinal Stadium.
The win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Cardinals, and gets them back up to .500 on the season at 5-5 and 3-4 in ACC play. Louisville now only needs to win one of their final two games against Duke and Kentucky to reach bowl eligibility.
Quarterback Malik Cunningham went 13-of-18 passing for 209 yards and four touchdowns, while also adding 19 yards and a score on the ground. Running back Jalen Mitchell ran for 102 yards, and wide receivers Ahmari Huggins Bruce and Tyler Harrell combined for 113 receiving yards.
Defensively, outside linebacker Yasir Abdullah led the way with 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, with Louisville as a whole tallying eight and four, respectively. The Orange were held to just 184 total yards of offense, including 95 from star running back Sean Tucker, and just 3-14 on third down.
From the jump, Louisville took commanding control of the game, as they scored on their first four drives of the game and five of their six drives in the first half. Cunningham threw touchdowns to Harrell, Jordan Watkins and Huggins-Bruce twice, while also running for one of his own, helping the Cardinals put up 284 of their 382 yards in the first half.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Louisville was just as dominant out of the gates. In the first half alone, the defense held the Orange to just 81 yards and 0-7 on third down, forced them to punt five times with four three-and-outs, and only allowed a 43-yard field goal.
The Cardinals opened up the second half with a 33-yard field goal from James Turner, and eventually inserted backup quarterback Evan Conley into the game in the fourth quarter. Turner would later add a 27-yard field goal in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Like in the first half, the defense continued to keep on trucking. Syracuse's first two drives out of halftime resulted in turnovers on downs, with the first eating up seven-plus minutes of clock, and then punted on their third. Their fourth drive merely saw them run out the clock with defeat smack in the fcce.
Next up, Louisville will travel to Duke for their final road game of the season. Kickoff against the Blue Devils is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
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