Game Recap

Steve Kragthorpe may not be the coach of the Louisville football Cardinals after this season, but he can now say he has finally defeated Syracuse. With 1:24 left in the game, quarterback Adam Froman hit Josh Chichester on a fade route to the corner of the endzone to tie the game at 9-9. Chris Philpott added the go ahead extra point to give the Cards a 10-9 lead. Louisville improved to 4-6 on the season and now sits at 1-4 in conference. The Orange fell to 3-7 and are still completely defeated in the Big East.

This game started off…well, let’s just say, slow. Trent Guy returned the opening kick 53 yards to set up Louisville nicely for their opening drive. However, as has been the case far too often this season, the Cards killed themselves with a few penalties and found themselves punting. Both teams put on a clinic offensively, meaning they showed the crowd how to not run an efficient offense. Mid-way through the first half, Pinkie contributor Carl H. could not take it anymore and uttered the phrase, “Holy hell, this is awful.”  

As we entered half, the Cards and ‘Cuse were deadlocked at 0-0. Despite the poor offensive showing, the Louisville defense continued to show progress. They pressured that punk Greg Paulus, Syracuse’s quarterback for those who don’t know, mixed up their packages, and held tough when Syracuse was threatening to score. But there was still a half to play and it definitely felt like first team to score a touchdown might win.

Running back Darius Ashley led the Cards in rushing with 46 yards

Syracuse got the ball to start the 2nd half andmarched right down the field. It looked like the Orange would find the endzone, but the Cards stood tough and forced a field goal attempt. Syracuse successfully connected on a 42 yard field goal to go up 3-0 with 8:51 left in the 3rd quarter. Trent Guy fielded another kickoff and raced 40 yards to give the Cards another chance to put some points on the board.

This time, the offense woke up a bit and put together a pretty good drive. Ultimately, the Cards were stopped at the Syracuse 14 yard line and faced a 31 yard field goal attempt. Chris Philpott, who connected on all three field goal attempts last week against West Virginia, continued his stellar kicking and knocked the ball dead center. We now sat at 3-3 with 3:54 left in the 3rd quarter. Both teams traded possessions to end the quarter and found themselves with 15 minutes to go to determine who would come away with their first Big East victory.

Syracuse wasted no time and put together a quick drive for the first touchdown of the game. Syracuse running back Delone Carter scored the touchdown with a 3 yard rush and after Syracuse kicks the extra point, they would take a 10-3 lead. Well, actually, the Syracuse long-snapper did not get the memo and unleashed a wide left snap which led to a failed extra point attempt and a 9-3 ‘Cuselead. Those things always tend to lead to come back to haunt you.

Going down 9-3 did not seem to faze the Cards as they continued to show little offensively. However, the defense still played tough and gave the offense another chance. What ensued was the play of the game, even if it did not technically occur. With Syracuse stopped at their 32 yard line, punter Rob Long bombed a 62 yarder to Cards’ return specialist Trent Guy.  

Guy fielded the punt over his right shoulder while falling down. Guy put his left arm on the ground, twisted his body, and started out towards the center of the field. He was bottled up just past the 10 yard line, then shifted field and raced left. Despite the punt return being stuffed in the middle, the punt return unit held their blocks and gave Guy an opening on the left side. Trent Guy got through the opening and just had the punter to beat. He did just that and after getting to the sideline, Guy was gone 95 yards for an electric punt return touchdown.

Unfortunately, the play was reviewed andit was determined Guy’s left knee touched the ground as he made his first move after fielding the punt. The call was accurate and the spectacular play was nullified. Instead, Louisville took possession at their own 5 yard line with 8:07 to play in the game. Following a Syracuse timeout, quarterback Adam Froman hit Trent Guy for a 36 yard completion to get out of the shadow of their own goal post. After reviewing the play, if Froman hits Guy in stride, it’s an easy touchdown as Guy had two steps on the defensive back.

Ultimately, Louisville’s drive stalled, but they did manage to flip field position and gave Syracuse the ball back at the 13 yard line with under 6:00 to play. Louisville’s defense maintained their solid play and forced the ‘Cuse to punt. With 3:33 remaining, Syracuse punted to Trent Guy and again, Guy single handedly gave Louisville great field position. This time, Guy returned a 63 yard punt 44 yards to the 45 yard line. The Cards, yet again, had great field position, but it remained to be seen if they could finally score a touchdown.

Louisville started their drive with 3:14 to play andall of a sudden, seemed to find their offensive rhythm. Froman hit running back Darius Ashley on a wheel route for an 8 yard gain to start the drive. Syracuse then jumped offsides giving the Cards a first down. After a 4 yard rush by Ashley, From scrambled up the middle for a 13 yard gain putting the Cards on the 15 yard line. Froman then threw the fade to 6-9 Josh Chichester to right corner of the endzone. Despite defensive pass interference, Chichester secured the football and tied the game at 9-9. Chris Philpott then added the extra point to give the Cards the lead at 10-9.

Josh Chichester secured the football for the game tying touchdown

Louisville was still not out of the woods yet as they gave up a 40 yard return to Mike Jones of Syracuse. Only needing a field goal, Syracuse was now at their 46 yard line with a little over a minute left. On the first play from scrimmage, Syracuse quarterback (and former Duke jerk) Greg Paulus scrambled for an 11 yard gain. Following an incomplete pass, Paulus tried to hit receiver Alec Lemon on a quick slant, but it hit Lemon’s fingertips andLouisville defensive back Andrew Robinson scooped it up before the ball hit the ground for the game securing interception. Cards win it 10-9.

My Take

It was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but a win’sa win. I will always take an ugly win like this over a loss in a 45-42 type of game. I was again impressed by the play of the Louisville defense. I understand Syracuse is not a stellar offensive team, but I like what I’ve seen from the defense recently.

The Cards have gotten healthier defensively and with a more complete defensive roster, it allows defensive coordinator Brent Guy to open things up. When the Cards were really banged up on the defensive side a couple weeks ago, the Cards were not only getting lit up, but were extremely vanilla with their defensive packages. The past two weeks, the Cards have definitely been more multiple defensively and I like it.

Trent Guy is a “freakin stud” and was simply phenomenal in the return game. He finished with 137 return yards and one reception for 36 yards. Guy definitely gave the Cards, and the crowd for that matter, a shot of adrenaline. Trent Guy needs to get more touches on a consistent basis, but for that to happen, the offense needs to get their act together.

The offensive “display” today was abyssmal. Louisville finished with 34 yard rushing and 117 yards passing. I give quarterback Adam Froman a bit of a pass because it was his first game back since the Cincinnati game on October 24. However, the offensive line continues to depress as opposed to impress. The big boys up front are still largely undisciplined and continue to kill drives with holding penalties. The Cards have strong weapons offensively, but it’s very difficult to utilize those weapons if the line cannot block anyone.

Finally, how about Chris Philpott? This kid came to Louisville as the 6th ranked kicker in the country in 2008, but quickly showed an inability to kick field goals, extra points, or even keep kickoffs in bounds. However, since losing his placekicking job to the ‘Shoeless Wonder’ Ryan Payne, Philpott re-grouped and improved. When he got his shot to kick field goals again, he has impressed. He is now 4-4 on field goals and perfect on extra points. I don’t care who you are, but it’s always nice to see a kid turn things around.

The Cards return to action next Saturday in Tampa as they face the South Florida Bulls (6-3, 2-3). Kickoff will be at 12:00 pm and broadcast on the Big East network, so WHAS here in the ‘Ville.