Louisville vs. Syracuse Preview

[Sheriff50]

Louisville fan here. I do a preview and review of each game and I like to share it with our opponent each week to get feedback and discussion going. It's obviously written from a Cardinal perspective, but you might find it interesting:

Sheriff's Review, Louisville v. Syracuse

 

[GoSU96]

Louisville fan here. I do a preview and review of each game and I like to share it with our opponent each week to get feedback and discussion going. It's obviously written from a Cardinal perspective, but you might find it interesting:

Sheriff's Review, Louisville v. Syracuse

You need to take into account SU's defensive scheme, which is not a favorable match up for a freshmen QB and an OL that is struggling.

 

[Faegan]

As far as why our pass defense is ranked poorly from a statistical perspective, we have had a lot of injuries and have played against really good receivers. We are healthier now than at any other time this season.

3 of the current top 10 receivers in the country (Woods, Givens and Bailey) have played against us, and others are on the list.

 

[chakka3421]

Thank God some common sense here - and from a Lville fan no less. Boys we have a football game this Sat and all these stupid threads about BE is driving me crazy!

Thank you Sherrif but really, we are going to kick your @$$ - SU 30 Lville 10.

 

[Upstate]

You need to take into account SU's defensive scheme, which is not a favorable match up for a freshmen QB and an OL that is struggling.

It isn't, but Ville can counteract this by running the ball...which they do very often. I'd love to see us rush the gaps. I'm afraid of draw plays that will gash us for over-committing. I do, however, think that the speed in our LBs will help us contain Bridgewater

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

Good write-up Sheriff, but I think our boys are really going to take it to ya on Saturday. I think the timing is just going to align in our favor.

Statistically, our pass defense has been hampered by injuries. We are much healthier now, and to tell you the truth, I WANT Teddy to try and pass against us.

 

[GoSU96]

You need to take into account SU's defensive scheme, which is not a favorable match up for a freshmen QB and an OL that is struggling.

There isn't any comparision between the efficiency and productivity of the two offenses.

Louisville is 104th in yds per game, 94th yds per play, 103rd yds per carrry, 114th in pts, 114th in # plays run for each point, 118th in yds need for each point, 102nd in tackles for loss allowed, 108th in sacks allowed, and 67th in 3rd down conversions.

SU is 94th yds per game, 77th yds per play, 85th yds per carrry, 55th in pts, 38th in # plays run for each point, 14th in yds need for each point, 8th in tackles for loss allowed, 51st in sacks allowed, and 39th in 3rd down conversions.

SU may not be gaining many more yds per game, but for the year is doing a much more on offense otherwise.

 

[upperdeck]

Strength of schedules is in UL favor. does the UL schedule really skew that way?

Cinci < WV
UNC < USC
Rutgers < Wake
kent < toledo
marshall <rutgers
UFI > Tulane
Murray state = RI

 

[Upstate]

I like that we are top-20 in the nation in return yards.

 

[Sheriff50]

BTW, why is the At their request, this network is being blocked from this site. board basically abandoned?

GoSU96, One thing UofL has faced so far in 2011 is good defenses. Nearly every team since the Kentucky game has had some kind of top defensive stat.

Faegan, thanks for letting me know that. Injuries are a major reason for Louisville's lack of offense as well, the offense looked completely different last week vs. a good Rutgers D.

Chakka3421: Thanks, and we'll see. I'd be shocked if SU could drop 30 on UofL. But I would have never believed you all did what you did vs. WVU either. Nassib is legit, so you never know. Louisville's Defense is really good, I tell every fanbase this and they discount it and then after the game (win or lose I'll be here) everyone raves about the D.

Upstate: Yep we are going to try and run the ball whether the Orange shut it down or not. Containing Bridgewater is no easy task, but from what I can tell you have speed in your LBs. The best way to beat Teddy is to play zone, when teams play man he thrives.

OrangeMuskyFish: Thank you. Yeah I mean Syracuse definitely found some kind of formula vs. WVU. that is my biggest worry is that they build on that success against us. I really like our Defense (if you couldn't tell) so I might be overconfident. I've just not seen a team really beat them. The offense has put them in bad spots all year. Teddy is a really good QB but if SU's defense gets their pass defense shored up now that they are healthy this could be a long game for the Cards. Teddy keeps you honest with his legs, he is extremely elusive. The deep balls he throws are really impressive, UofL fan or not.

Upperdeck: I'm not sure how the SOS favors UofL. I use the Congrove SOS from week to week. Other may be different but that is the easiest one for me to find each week so I go with it.

 

[orangenirvana]

SU's pass defense problems:

1. Graduation of two valuable seniors Mike Holmes and Da'Mon Merkerson

2. Injury to Chan Jones in our season opener crippled SU's pass rush, giving opposing QB's all day to find open receivers

3. SU DC Scott Shafer's scheme is generally focused on stopping the run and often sells out and as a result sometimes leaves the secondary on an island. High risk, high reward. When the pass rush is a problem, then the D is very susceptible to giving up passing yards.

4. Inexperienced linebackers who have struggled against the pass have given the pass defense no help. However, adjustments have been made recently that have led to significant improvements (Jr. MLB Siriki Diabate has replaced true freshman Dyshawn Davis in our okie dime package).

5. We have faced very good receivers

6. Injuries to starting strong safety Shamarko Thomas (sorry to bring him up) and his backup Sr. Olando Fisher hurt our secondary. Not much depth there so we then had to rely on inexperienced young players and at one point were playing a true frosh at corner.

7. We've given up quite a few long bombs, specifically the last two games. Kevyn Scott in particular has struggled this year finding the football on long throws. A very large portion of the passing yards we've given up have been on big plays.

Hope this helps.

 

[TexanMark]

Sheriff...thanks for coming by.

This board is the old Scout Board, we migrated over here a few months ago...Syracuse doesn't have a broad enough fan base to support a Rivals, Scout, Cuseorange.com. Syracusefan.com and Syracuse.com (Newspaper Board) boards.

Serious discussion is here and the newspaper board is a kiddie and a troll haven. Most of the good posters there migrate to here. I hope we can get the Rivals Board more active again as Ryan Murray does a good job.

 

[Sheriff50]

orangenirvana: yes that does help. I appreciate that.

TexanMark: You know I actually thought the Syracuse fan base was huge! The Louisville boards are really InsideTheVille.com (where I am mostly) and CardinalSports.com (I am there from time to time).

 

[OrangeTarheel]

I think that's a great, comprehensive review -- thanks for sharing. I think these teams are both close on paper so there are likely some intangibles that will play a role in deciding this game. One of those is the grit of this Syracuse team, they have been up against the wall in a lot of their games this year and have (with the exception of the Rutgers game) performed admirably. Another thought along these lines is that if Syracuse gets an early lead it could easily generate a continuation of the good focus and execution we saw against WVU. These are young kids so it is tough to tell.

I have lots of respect for Charlie Strong, I think you have a great coach and a lot of upside for the near future.

 

[Sheriff50]

Thanks OrangeTarheel. As I was doing this preview I kept thinking that Syracuse is like us but different in that they are always in tight games, but find ways to win. Whereas UofL is always in tight games and find ways to lose. If Syracuse scores first I don't think UofL will be in panic mode, but if they go 3-4 possessions after a Syracuse TD without scoring then the wheels could very well fall off. For Louisville the best case scenario is to open the game with a TD and stop or limit Syracuse to FGs, while taking advantage of scoring opportunities. If UofL gets up early I like our chances, if Syracuse gets on top first it could be a long afternoon.

I'm really sad that Louisville and Syracuse will be in separate conferences here soon. The Syracuse fan base has always been a pleasure.

 

[N.Y. Orangeman]

Nice write-up, Sheriff. I see a close game as well, though I believe we might be able to squeak it out based on our defense.

One note: unless I am mistaken, Jones is a Junior. The class/eligibility list can be found here:
http://stats.syracuse.com/cfb/teamstats.asp?team=14&report=roster

 

[Sheriff50]

Thanks N.Y. Orangeman...I'm sure you are right on Jones. I am my own, fact-checker, and editor so I guarantee there is a mistake or two.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Louisville fan here. I do a preview and review of each game and I like to share it with our opponent each week to get feedback and discussion going. It's obviously written from a Cardinal perspective, but you might find it interesting:

Sheriff's Review, Louisville v. Syracuse

Great job. Thanks for the write up, and best of luck to you. Just not on Saturday.

 

[BlazeOrange]

The Louisville boards are really InsideTheVille.com (where I am mostly) and CardinalSports.com (I am there from time to time).

Which one does the lookalikes for the oppponents before each game? I'd be interested in what they've come up with for this years team.

 

[Sheriff50]

IthacaMatt: Thanks, and I understand. Same to you.

BlazeOrange: InsidetheVille.com does the lookalikes, but they are really distracted with all the conference realignment stuff so I'm not sure if it is there or not.

 

[jekelish]

Nice preview, Sheriff. One thing to remember when it comes to Syracuse: Marrone likes to list players by academic eligibility, and not athletic eligibility, so a guy like Nassib is actually only a junior in terms of eligibility. That's one thing that always irks me, because without fail when we're on TV, the announcers will call him "senior quarterback Ryan Nassib" when he's actually a redshirt junior. He's also a senior in NCAA 12, which also royally sucks for my dynasty.

 

[Sheriff50]

jekelfish, yeah I noticed that when I went back to change Jones' status. I don't think I'm going to go back and change them all!!!!

I've never seen players listed like that, but it is good too see how many Gr.s there are.