Recap: Cardinals Hold Off Orange, 56-34

Saturday, November 23

Louisville, KY

4 PM

Syracuse University

4-7 , 1-6

Louisville

7-4 , 5-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Syracuse

Louisville

11/23/2019 8:11:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery Dino Babers Press Conference Andre Cisco Press Conference Moe Neal Press Conference Postgame Notes Quotes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Freshman Jawhar Jordan and senior Moe Neal had career days, but Louisville quarterback Micale Cunningham passed for five touchdowns and ran for another as the Cardinals (7-4, 5-3 ACC) defeated Syracuse 56-34 in front of 46,796 fans at Cardinal Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 23. Jordan amassed 223 all-purpose yards (33 rushing, 87 receiving, 101 kick return) and Neal ran for a career-best 163 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

Syracuse (510) and Louisville (608) combined for 1,118 yards of offense and the 90 points scored in the game matched the most in series history. The two sides also racked up 90 points in their 2016 meeting, a game won by the Cardinals, 62-28.

Thirty-eight of the points scored Saturday were in the third quarter. All seven possessions that began in the stanza ended in with one team adding to its scoring total, including six straight touchdowns.

For the Orange (4-7, 1-6 ACC), the loss was their fifth in a row at Cardinal Stadium.

QUOTABLE
"Obviously a very, very good football team and they [Louisville] deserve to be exactly where they are at," Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said. "The defense made enough plays for them to win the game. Their special teams put them in situations where they could be explosive and did some really nice things, and their offense is just outstanding. It's extremely explosive with dynamic personnel."

CARDINALS SURGE OUT OF THE GATE
In the first quarter, Louisville jumped out to a 21-3 advantage. After Cunningham tossed a 7-yard touchdown to Marshon Ford on the Cardinals' first series, Syracuse redshirt sophomore kicker Andre Szmyt hit one of his two field goals in the game to cut the lead to 7-3 with 8:06 remaining in the period.

The Syracuse defense forced a three-and-out on Louisville's next possession, but a muffed punt by senior Sean Riley gave the ball back to the home team at the Orange 29-yard line. Cunningham took advantage, hitting Seth Dawkins for a touchdown on the first play after the turnover. A 20-yard Cunningham touchdown run with less than two minutes to go in the quarter made it an 18-point game.

The Orange tallied their first touchdown of the contest at the 9:36 mark of the second quarter. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tommy DeVito connected with junior tight end Aaron Hackett on a 20-yard scoring pass to get Syracuse back within 11 at 21-10. The touchdown capped a 16-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 6:39 off the clock. It was the longest scoring drive of the season for the Orange in terms of both number of plays and time. Syracuse covered most of the distance by utilizing its ground game. The Orange gained 46 yards on 13 carries during the series, including six runs for 23 yards by redshirt junior Abdul Adams.

Syracuse and Louisville traded punts on the next two possessions before Cunningham found Tutu Atwell for a 90-yard touchdown that pushed the Cardinals' advantage back to 18 (28-10) at halftime.

WILD THIRD QUARTER
The offensive fireworks in the first half were only a taste of what the third quarter would bring. The Orange and Cardinals combined for 333 yards of offense in the stanza, including 265 yards rushing.

Szmyt started the scoring barrage by connecting on a 46-yard field goal on Syracuse's first drive of the third quarter, closing the gap to 28-13. The Orange and Cardinals alternated touchdowns after that. Jordan Davis caught a scoring pass from Cunningham, while Hassan Hall and Javian Hawkins added rushing touchdowns for the Cardinals. Meanwhile, Neal and sophomore Jarveon Howard logged rushing touchdowns for the Orange.

Syracuse nearly disrupted the back and forth by recovering an onside kick following Howard's touchdown, but officials called an illegal block on the Orange and the Cardinals received the ball on the rekick.

By the time the quarter was over the score was 49-27 Louisville.

FOURTH-QUARTER CHANCES
Redshirt junior receiver Trishton Jackson caught his 10th touchdown of the season, a 9-yard grab from DeVito with 13:38 left in the game, to make the score 49-34.

On the ensuing Louisville possession, Syracuse got the big play from its defense that it had been looking for. Sophomore safety Andre Cisco intercepted Cunningham at the Lousiville 29-yard line. The Orange had an opportunity to make it a one-score game, but a fourth-down pass by backup Clayton Welch, who came on in relief of DeVito, fell incomplete.

Syracuse nearly got within striking distance again on its next series. Jordan took a short pass from Welch on first down and went 81 yards down to the Louisville 3-yard line. On second-and-goal, Welch scored on a keeper, but the play was called back because of holding. Two more penalties sabotaged the drive and Welch's fourth-down pass to Taj Harris came up six yards shy of the end zone.

Atwell put the finishing touches on the Louisville victory with his second touchdown catch of the game, a 14-yard grab, with 1:24 to play.

OF NOTE

Neal moved into 10th place on Syracuse's career rushing list and now has 2,462 yards, passing Orange legend Ernie Davis (2,386) and Damien Rhodes (2,461).
DeVito finished the game 14-for-21 through the air for 153 yards and two touchdowns. With the performance, DeVito eclipsed 200 completions for the season and now ranks sixth on the program's single-season record list with 211. He also extended his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to 167. It's the second-longest streak in school history behind R.J. Anderson (190, 2002-03).
Hawkins ran for 233 yards on 23 carries for Louisville, an average of 10.1 yards per rush.
Cunningham's five touchdowns passes were one short of the record for a Syracuse opponent and were the most against the Orange since Clemson's Tajh Boyd threw five in 2013. USC's Matt Barkley holds the record. Barkley tossed six touchdowns against the Orange in 2012.

UP NEXT
Syracuse returns home to celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 30 when Wake Forest comes to the Dome. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on RSN.

Tickets to watch the Orange and Demon Deacons start at $35. All high school and college students are invite to take advantage of the Home for the Holidays $10 ticket promotion. All tickets are on sale online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center.

For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).