Preview: Orange Face Louisville in Final Road Test

SYRACUSE (4-6, 1-5 ACC) AT LOUISVILLE (6-4, 4-3 ACC)
Game Details: 4 p.m. | Saturday, Nov. 23
Location: Louisville, Ky. | Cardinal Stadium
Game Links: Tickets | Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Television: ACC Network
Radio: Syracuse Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Twitter: @CuseFootball | @Cuse
Syracuse Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes (PDF)
Louisville Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Notes (PDF)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After getting back on the winning track last week against Duke, Syracuse (4-6, 1-5 ACC) looks to keep its bowl hopes alive when it squares of with ACC Atlantic Division rival Louisville (6-4, 4-3 ACC) on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Cardinal Stadium. Saturday's game will air live on ACC Network. Chris Cotter (pxp), Mark Herzlich (analyst) and Kelsey Riggs (sideline reporter) have the call.

The Orange are coming off a 49-6 win at Duke that snapped their four-game losing streak. To maintain its quest for bowl-eligibility, Syracuse will be required to win its second true road game in as many weeks, something the Orange hasn't done since the end of the 2012 regular season. That year, the Orange won 31-27 at Missouri and 38-20 at Temple in back-to-back weeks.

The Cardinals, winners of four of their last six, are coming off a 34-20 victory at NC State. Saturday's game is Louisville's home finale. The Cardinals wrap up the regular-season with a road date against Bluegrass State rival Kentucky.

INTERCEPTION-FREE
Against Duke, Syracuse threw 16 times to extend its streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 169, including 146 by starting QB Tommy DeVito. DeVito's interceptionless stretch is the third-longest among active FBS signal-callers behind Liberty's Stephen Calvert (281) and Georgia Southern's Shai Werts (192). In the Syracuse annals, DeVito's streak ranks third behind R.J. Anderson (190 from 2002-03) and Ryan Nassib (165 in 2012).

The last DeVito interception happened on his final throw versus Holy Cross on Sept. 28. In the five games since that miscue, the redshirt sophomore has completed 62.3 percent (91-146) of his passes for 946 yards and six touchdowns.

Additionally, DeVito is one of eight Power-Five quarterback to throw 17+ touchdown passes and five interceptions or fewer. The others: Ohio State's Justin Fields (31-1), Oregon State's Justin Luton (23-2), Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa (33-3), Oregon's Justin Herbert (28-3), Minnesota's Tanner Morgan (22-4), Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts (28-5) and Baylor's Charlie Brewer (18-5).

THE NEED FOR SPEED
Since head coach Dino Babers arrived in 2016, Syracuse has run 3,806 plays in 47 games – an average of 81 plays per game. The Orange have ranked in the top five in the FBS in total plays each of the past two seasons, including logging a school-record 1,063 plays in 2018.

Syracuse's average of 81.8 plays per contest last season was second nationally to ACC rival Wake Forest (82.1). This season, SU is averaging 74.9 plays per contest and is tied for 23rd nationally with 749 plays. However, nine teams ahead of the Orange have played 11 games to Syracuse's 10.

TOP TRENDS
In nine out of Syracuse's 10 games this season there has not been a lead change. Only against Boston College on Nov. 2 did the lead change hands. The Orange and Eagles alternated the advantage four times in the first half. Along the same lines, the team that has scored first has won every game this season.

Dino Babers is 26-1 in his career when the opposing team fails to score 20 points. His only loss under that scenario occurred earlier this season when NC State defeated the Orange, 16-10.

PINNING THEM DEEP
Punter Sterling Hofrichter, a 2019 semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter, has landed 36.3 percent (95) of his 262 career punts inside the 20-yard line with only 13 touchbacks. Hofrichter leads the ACC in number of punts downed inside the 20 this season (25) and is tied for third in 50+ yard punts (20).

With an average of 44.1 yards per punt, Hofrichter is challenging Sean Reali's 1996 SU season record for gross punting average (44.5).

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game marks the 18th meeting between Syracuse and Louisville. Fifteen of those pairings have been as conference rivals, first in the BIG EAST and now in the ACC. The Cardinals own the series lead, 10-7.

Plenty of points have been scored in recent years, with the winning side going over the 40-point threshold in five of the last six meetings, including four consecutive games where the winning team reached 40 points or more. In each of the last three games, the victor has scored 50+ points.

The Cardinals have won five of the seven games played in Louisville. Syracuse has not won a road game against the Cardinals since a 38-35 victory in 2007.

In 1989, the Orange defeated the Cardinals 24-13 at the Coca-Cola Bowl in Tokyo, Japan. It's the only time Syracuse has played a game outside of North America.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Louisville has won four of its last six games, including a 34-20 win at NC State their last time out.

The Cardinals are coached by Scott Satterfield, who's gotten the team bowl-eligible in his first season at the helm. Satterfield came from Appalachian State where he compiled a 51-24 record in six seasons. Satterfield has made an immediate impact on Louisville's offense, which ranks near the top of the conference in most statistical categories, including passing efficiency (1st - 169.1) and rushing (3rd - 199.0).

Quarterback Juwan Pass has been sidelined due to injury since Week 3. With Pass out, Micale Cunningham and Evan Conley have shared quarterbacking duties. Cunningham has gotten the start in every game since, but Conley has also seen significant playing time.

Running back Javian Hawkins ranks third in the ACC in rushing yards per game (104.5). He trails only Boston College's AJ Dillon and Clemson's Travis Etienne in that category.

Defensively, the Cardinals rank last in the ACC in points allowed, giving up nearly 33 per game. Linebacker Monty Montgomery leads the Cardinals with five sacks, while defensive back Chandler Jones has nine passes defended, including eight breakups.

UP NEXT
Syracuse returns to the Dome to host Wake Forest in its last regular-season game of 2019 on Saturday, Nov. 23. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on RSN.

Tickets to watch the Orange and Demon Deacons start at $35. They are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center.

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Preview: Orange Face Louisville in Final Road Test

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Players Mentioned

Tommy DeVito

Sterling Hofrichter

Syracuse University Athletics