Syracuse increased the lead to 21-7,after running back ran for a 39 yard touchdown to start the first half.

At the end of the first half, the Syracuse Orange lead the Louisville Cardinals 14-7. Syracuse took the lead off a 38 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cameron Dantley to Da’Mon Merkerson on a forth down attempt with two minutes left in the second quarter. The Orange racked up 218 total yards of offense in the first half led by Dantley, who finished the half 9-15 for 162 yards and a touchdown. Cardinals running back Victor Anderson has rushed for 75 yards and a score off 12 carries. Penalties have also been an issue for the Cards as they were flagged five times for 46 yards in the first half alone.

Syracuse starting safety AJ Brown is out for the rest of the game with an ankle issue.  Captain Bruce Williams should see much of Bronwn’s time.  Long snapper Max Leo is also out due to injury for the rest of today’s game.  Leo took a blow to the head and is being replaced by backup center Dalton Phillips.

Syracuse got a TD from Curtis Brinkley to tie the game 7-7 with about three minutes left in the 1st – that ended an SU drought of nine quarters without finding paydirt.

Syracuse ties the game with a 6 play 74 yard drive caped by a 2 yard touchdown run by runing back Curtis Brinkley. Score tied 7-7 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter

So, Syracuse takes on Louisville tonight and the statement of the day is:  We have five more games this year?!!?  Yes, there are five more games, and really, the only place Syracuse can go is up against the lone Big East team it beat last season.  Three keys to this game:

1. CURTIS BRINKLEY

If Syracuse stands a real good chance in this one the Orange needs to establish a ground game.  Brinkley has been the key for the ‘Cuse all year and it’s important to have him active against a top five UofL run defense.  See how the run game looks with Delone Carter and FB Tony Fiammetta coming back from injury this weekend.

2. SU’s DEFENSE

You’ve got to stop UofL.  This is an offense that has proven it can both pass and run and a defense that has struggled for Syracuse in critical spots.  Pressure is key here.  The Orange defense has not been the best at getting to the QB and into the backfield this year.  If Hunter Cantwell can sit back all day to pick the defense apart, this could be fun for Cardinals fans.

3. PAT SHADLE

He might be SU’s best chance to put points on the board.  He’s a Lou Groza semifinalist and can hit from anywhere.  Also, I just wanted to put the kicker as a key to the game.

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TEBOW LIKES ADDAZIO

Also of note, Donnie Webb over at the Post-Standard says Tim Tebow was asked by the New York Times’ Pete Thamel if Florida assistant Steve Addazio would be a good SU coach.  The answer was yes.

The Cards opened the game with a twelve play 93 yard touchdown drive. Cards running back Victor Anderson finished the drive with a touchdown from about 6 yards out.

The Louisville Cardinals will not need much motivation to get up for this game. Last year the Syracuse Orange came into Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium as a 37 point underdog and stunned the Cards 38-35. The upset was the largest upset against the spread ever at the time.

Louisville (5-2, 1-1) is coming off their most impressive win of the season after defeating South Florida 24-20 last week at home. But the Cards will be without the services of wide receiver Scott Long, who will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Long played a huge role in the Cards win over the Bulls, and it will be interesting to see if any of the other Louisville wide-outs can step up and make an impact down the field. Last week, Cardinals quarterback Hunter Cantwell completed only one pass past the line of scrimmage that Long was not on the receiving end of.

Syracuse (1-6, 0-3) remains the only team in the Big East who have not won a game in league play. The Orange rank near the bottom statistically in almost all of offensive categories. Syracuse is averaging only 17.7 points per game and are gaining only 287 yards of total offense on the season. Though the Orange have been less than stellar on the offensive side of the ball, they do have a stud in the back field in tailback Curtis Brinkley. The senior running back is averaging over 100 yards rushing per game and is picking up an average of five yards per carry.

The Cards better be prepared to play tonight if they want to have any chance of competing for a conference title. Since moving to the Big East in 2005, the Orange have made all the games played very competitive. The Cards need to prove that they’re mature enough to take care of business on the road after a huge win last week. Cantwell needs to cut down on the interceptions and make better decisions. Though I don’t think that it will be an easy win, I definitely think that the Cards have what it takes to go on the road to Syracuse and come away with a convincing win over the struggling Orange.

I don’t think the Cards will take this game lightly, due to what happened last season, and will be looking to prove a point. I’m taking the Cards to win 34-17.

If the Cards proved anything in their first exhibition of the season, they proved that they have a lot to work on. The Cards were able to defeat the Georgetown College Tigers 74-67 in Freedom, but were unimpressive in doing so. Showing very poor offensive continuity throughout the game, the Cards finished with 18 turnovers to only 11 assists. Louisville, ranked 3rd in the nation by both the AP and the coach’s poll, was also out rebounded by the Tigers 46-37. Freshman Samardo Samuels had a strong showing scoring a game high 20 points, though 14 of his points came from the free throw line. The free throw line was another area in which the Cards struggled from. Louisville had 50 free throw attempts and connected on only 35 of them. If the Cards want to be truly deserving of that high ranking, they need to improve drastically in the next couple of weeks before regular season play begins.

Pitt running back LeSean McCoy was a sophomore in high school the last time the Panthers played the Irish. Now a sophomore in college, McCoy leads the nation in scoring with 14 touchdowns as Pitt heads into South Bend. With uncertainty surrounding Pitt’s quarterback situation, the Panther’s success will rest heavily on the young running back who has carried Pitt’s offense many times this season.

So can McCoy get the Panthers out of South Bend with a W? Consider this; Notre Dame’s defense ranks 91st in the nation against the run, and McCoy has rushed for 140 plus yards in the last four games. The Irish are 20th in the nation in terms of passing offense and can put up points, but Pitt can frustrate opposing quarterbacks with the nation’s 34th ranked pass defense. Look for the Panthers to become bowl eligible thanks to another spectacular performance from McCoy and Pitt’s secondary.

Dale’s Pick 34-21 Pitt