Orange Extra: Crunch Time
11/20/2019 1:46:00 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It will be one team battling for bowl eligibility and another hoping to improve its bowl standing when Syracuse (4-6, 1-5 ACC) plays at Louisville (6-4, 4-3 ACC) this weekend.
The Orange, back on the winning track after a 49-6 victory at Duke last Saturday, need to close out the campaign with two more victories to become bowl eligible. The Cardinals have reached the six-win measuring stick and have two contests left to add to that total.
ROAD RECKONING
Syracuse seeks a second straight win away from home when it challenges Louisville. The Orange last captured true-road triumphs in consecutive weeks back in 2012 when the squad claimed victory at Missouri (31-27) and at Temple (38-20).
Louisville has won five out of the seven matchups, including four straight, with Syracuse that were played in Kentucky. The Orange posted a winning road result in 2007 when it emerged with a 38-35 victory behind 423 yards passing by quarterback Andrew Robinson.
PREDICTORS PICK POINTS-A-PLENTY
The Syracuse-Louisville pairing features two teams that both average at least 26 points per game. The Orange have produced 26.6 points an outing while the Cardinals own a 32.3 mark. The respective defensive scoring averages are also similar – Syracuse's defense has yielded 28.2 points and Louisville 32.7 points per outing. The winner of this game has scored at least 40 points in five of the last meetings dating back to 2012.Â
MARQUEE MATCHUP: SYRACUSE RUN DEFENSE VS. LOUISVILLE RUNNING BACK JAVIAN HAWKINS
The Cardinals enter this weekend's game with a ground attack that features Javian Hawkins. The rookie runner has already surpassed 1,000 yards rushing. He is just three yards shy of the freshman single-season record of 1,047 set at Louisville by Victor Anderson in 2008. Hawkins has already produced five 100-yard rushing games for the Cards. The Orange have yielded an average of 189.8 yards per game through their first 10 games.
Syracuse, now led by interim defensive coordinator Steve Stanard, showed dramatic improvement against the run in its victory at Duke last Saturday. The Orange defenders held the Blue Devils to just 122 yards on the ground and an average of 2.7 yards per rush.
Syracuse received standout performances from linebacker Lakiem Williams, who tallied 14 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback sack versus Duke. Safety Evan Foster was strong in the run-stopping department as well, accumulating 12 tackles.
Syracuse's ability to put Louisville in obvious passing situations should play an important part in determining Saturday's outcome.
HOFRICHTER HAMMERING THE PIGSKIN
Sterling Hofrichter, a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter, has helped the Orange field one of the top punt-coverage units in college football.
It starts with his kicks. He's averaging 44.1 yard per punt, which is just shy of the Orange single-season school record of 44.5 set by Sean Reali in 1996. Hofrichter has 20 punts that have traveled 50-or-more yards, the third-best total in the ACC. In addition to distance, there's placement – he has a conference-best 25 kicks inside the 20-yard line.
The punt-coverage group leads the ACC and ranks 10th nationally in punt return defense. The Orange have given up just 17 total yards and 10 returns in 2019.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- There have been lead changes in only one of Syracuse's 10 games this season – that came in the Boston College contest.
- Syracuse's 43-point margin of victory at Duke was the program's largest against an FBS foe since the Orange defeated Buffalo, 63-7, on Sept. 2, 2000.
- Tommy DeVito has upped his interception-free streak to 146 passes. The stretch began against NC State on Oct. 10. Two Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players have a longer current streak than DeVito – Stephen Calvert (Liberty) has the longest streak at 281 and Shai Werts of Georgia Southern has 192 straight throws without getting picked off. DeVito is one of 13 FBS quarterbacks with at least 17 touchdown passes and five or fewer interceptions.
- Cornerback Christopher Frederick has made 41 consecutive starts for the Orange. It is the longest active streak at his position in the FBS.
- Louisville running back Javian Hawkins averaging 104.5 rushing yards per game – the third-best average in the ACC.
