Louisville football vs. Syracuse: Betting line, 3 things to know before picking the game

Scott Satterfield is set to begin his fourth season at the helm of Louisville football Saturday night when the Cardinals open the season at Syracuse. It’s the earliest the team has opened ACC action since 2014 when it hosted Miami on Sept. 1. U of L won 31-13 in the program's first game in the new conference.

Louisville is hoping to have similar success eight years later. Vegas would suggest that could be the case. Vegas Insider has the squad as a 4 ½-point favorite over the Orange.

Here are three big things to know about the Cardinals’ season opener before making your own pick:

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Do you remember … September?

Prior to Saturday’s meeting, Louisville and Syracuse had only played each other in September three times, with the Cardinals winning two of the contests.

The most recent September meeting, however, remains one of the most memorable for Louisville and likely anyone who watched the game. On Sept. 9, 2016, Lamar Jackson, now with the Baltimore Ravens, racked up five touchdowns and 610 total yards of offense, 411 through the air, compared to the Orange’s team total of 414 yards in a 62-28 rout of the ‘Cuse. His hurdle on a touchdown run is still a highlight almost six years later.

Louisville’s other September win over the Orange was 30-20 on Sept. 13, 2003 on the road, while Syracuse beat the Cardinals 38-35 on Sept. 22, 2007 in Louisville.

It’s a game of runs

For as pass-heavy as the ACC is, this Week 1 matchup seems to favor the ground game. Syracuse and Louisville ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in the ACC’s 2021 top rushing offenses with the first- and fifth-leading rushers in Orange running back Sean Tucker and Cunningham. Syracuse quarterback Garrett Schrader wasn’t too far behind, rounding out the league’s top 10 rushers.

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Tucker averaged 6.1 yards per carry for 1,496 total rushing yards (No. 6 nationwide) with 12 touchdowns, ahead of Cunningham’s 1,031 yards for 6.0 yards per attempt and league-leading 20 rushing TDs. Schrader was second with 14 scores on the ground to complement 781 yards and 4.5 yards per tote.

“We know Tuck is a great back,” Louisville linebacker Momo Sanogo said. “He's a cutback runner, get downhill, can get moving, low center of gravity. ... So we gameplan to stop them early, stop them often and kind of make them win in the air.”

To combat Syracuse’s rushing attack, Louisville has an experienced line and solid group of linebackers that includes Sanogo, who transferred in with starting experience at Ole Miss, Monty Montgomery and Yasir Abdullah. In contrast, the Orange are young on the defensive line but have some veteran linebackers in Mikel Jones, Stefon Thompson and Marlowe Wax, the team’s leading tacklers in 2021.

While Cunningham will deservedly be the focus of Syracuse’s attention, the Cardinals have a deep group of running backs that provide another threat coming out of the backfield. Tiyon Evans was named Louisville’s starting running back after winning the job in fall camp. He has an SEC background and was considered one of the top JUCO prospects prior to spending the 2021 season with Tennessee.

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Despite Jalen Mitchell losing the starting job after being the team’s second-leading rusher a year ago, he’ll still be in the rotation of backs and is listed as a potential third-string option with Trevion Cooley. Jawhar Jordan, who will also have kick returning duties, will back up Evans, per the team’s Week 1 depth chart.

“It's a great competition and it's ongoing,” Satterfield said. “We put out the depth chart and that's kind of where we feel it's going to be, but I wouldn't be surprised if all four play running back and all four contribute on this football team.” 

A long, hard road ahead (and behind)

Louisville has struggled on the road.

Over the past five seasons, the squad has a 9-17 record away from Cardinal Stadium. Last season, Louisville went 2-2 with wins at Florida State (31-23) and Duke (62-22) but fell to NC State (28-13) and Wake Forest in a 37-34 heartbreaker.

What’s more is this will be the first time the Cardinals have opened the season in a true road game since 2005 when they won the Governor's Cup in Lexington 31-24. They had neutral-site season openers in 2021, 2018, 2017 and 2015, with their only win coming in 2017 against Purdue in Indianapolis.

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Louisville is 5-4 at Syracuse, though the last trip wasn't the most pleasant. On Nov. 9, 2018, which was also the last time the two teams played in New York, the Orange trounced the Cardinals 54-23. Quarterback Malik Cunningham suffered a concussion in the game and then-head coach Bobby Petrino was fired two days later.

“I don't even remember half of that day,” Cunningham said in July during the ACC Kickoff. “It was real early, like first quarter. I had like a long run then I came back in our second drive going down. We run quarterback draw and then like two D-linemen fell on my head and I was just out of there from there. It was crazy.”

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The Cardinals finished the 2018 season 2-8, the program's worst record since going 1-10 in 1997, and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2009.

It was the final moment with the team for several coaches, too. Quarterbacks coach Nick Petrino, defensive line coach L.D. Scott and linebackers coach Ryan Beard — all of whom are related to Bobby Petrino — were fired, along with operations Andy Wagner. Safeties coach Lorenzo Ward was named the interim head coach.

The overall series lead belongs to Louisville, 13-7.

“It'd be huge, going on the road and get an ACC conference win. It’d be big time. That's what we’re shooting for,” Satterfield said. “You have to start off on a good note. I am sure Syracuse is saying the same thing. It’s a conference game, you don’t want to get in a hole the very first week.”

Louisville must double up on road prep. The Cardinals have a quick turnaround, with a road trip Central Florida scheduled six days later. Louisville offensive lineman Bryan Hudson said it’s something the team has been preparing for since the summer.

“All those players and the coaches have really done a really good job, this fall camp — this even goes back to the summer — just getting us in the right shape,” he said, “just making sure we're all going hard in practice and getting all the numbers from the catapults and things like that. ... Quick turnarounds aren't easy. The coaches have put together a really good plan going in Week 2 after this game against Syracuse to make sure we're 100% going into Game 2 at UCF.”

Prediction: Louisville 27, Syracuse 17

Despite playing at a different time of year, Louisville's overall team has the experience edge over Syracuse at almost every position. That comes in handy when dealing with the woes of traveling and handling first-game jitters that can manifest in penalties. Expect the ground game to be featured (heavily) in this one, but success in the air will be the X factor. Syracuse has a nice 1-2 punch with Schrader and Tucker, but the Cardinals' depth should help them prevail and open the season with a win.

Louisville vs. Syracuse

Where: Syracuse, N.Y.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

TV: ACC Network

Radio: 93.9 The Ville, 970 WGTK

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football vs. Syracuse: 3 keys, betting line, prediction