Louisville football preview: 5 things to watch in the Syracuse game

Sep 1, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Bobby Petrino (L) talks to fans during the Card March prior to the game against the Charlotte 49ers at Papa John

Louisville football is set to square off against the Syracuse Orange on Friday night. What are the five things you need to be paying attention to?

The first week of the college football season has officially come to an end and it brought some amazing games. There were many top 25 teams that went down this past weekend, as well as many teams that exceeded expectations. For the Louisville football team, they showed why their football program is in a completely different universe than Charlotte’s.

Syracuse was also able to play well in their first game of the 2016 season. Newly hired head coach Dino Babers won his first game wearing the Navy and Orange. His squad was able to knock off the Colgate Raiders 33-7. Colgate started the game with a 7-0 lead, but that ultimately did not last very long as the Orange imposed their will.

Louisville and Syracuse will face one another in the Carrier Dome on Friday night. It will be the second game of the season, however it will be the first ACC conference game for both schools. Point spread aside, this is still an important matchup for the Louisville Cardinals football team.

There is going to be some major offensive talent on display in this contest. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson had one of the best two quarters of football that anyone may ever see and Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey looks solid in their new offensive system.

While Louisville football is still the favorite in this game, both schools will be fighting hard to get their first ACC win of the season. With that being said, what are the five things that you need to be paying attention to in this Friday night match-up?

Sep 2, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo (7) celebrates a touchdown catch with teammates against the Colgate Raiders during the first quarter at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

No. 5: Syracuse’s rushing attack

The Orange were able to put up 117 yards on 35 carries against the Colgate Raiders in last Friday night’s win. While Colgate isn’t the toughest defense that they will face this season, it is worth noting that they used five different players to carry the football, including quarterback Eric Dungey. Louisville needs to be stout up front in this contest.

Freshman running back Zoe Neal led the Orange in rushing yards last week. He was able to rack up 68 yards and one touchdown on his nine carries. The biggest run of the day for Syracuse belonged to Neal as he had a 49-yard touchdown to break the game wide open.

The good news for Louisville is that they have been great against the run over the past few seasons. Well, that is if your name isn’t Dalvin Cook. He has dominated the Cardinals the last two seasons, leading the Seminoles to back-to-back wins over Louisville.

Syracuse brings an uptempo, no huddle offense to the table this season. Therefore, it is crucial that Louisville finds a way to slow this rushing attack down in order to keep the Orange off the field on Friday. If they cannot, the Cardinals will quickly find themselves in a tough situation.

Sep 1, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) looks to pass against the Charlotte 49ers during the first quarter at Papa John

No. 4: Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson absolutely destroyed the Charlotte 49ers last Thursday evening. I’m sure you have heard it by now, but it’s necessary to let you know again. Jackson was able to score eight touchdowns in the first half on the Cardinals way to building a 56-0 lead.

Syracuse may have an interesting offense this season, but they do not compare to what Lamar Jackson can bring to the table by himself. He did a great job of avoiding pressure in the backfield last week. If he can continue to do that against Syracuse, there are sure to be many mis-matches throughout the evening.

Louisville fans should be able to enjoy all four quarters of Jackson this coming Friday. It’s very important that the Cardinals do not lose to an ACC opponent other than Clemson or Florida State.

It was reported this morning that Louisville is opening as a two touchdown favorite on the road. They will need Jackson to continue playing his best football to meet that expectation.

Jackson should be able to pick apart the Syracuse defense all night long. This will be another game that Cardinal fans are going to enjoy greatly.

Sep 2, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Eric Dungey (2) passes the ball as Colgate Raiders defensive lineman Pat Afriyie (37) defends during the second quarter at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

No. 3: Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey

Dino Babers’ no-huddle offense might have been a career saver for Eric Dungey. The Orange struggled mightily last season, but this new offense should be able to take them to greater heights in 2016. A large part of that success will be attributed to Dungey.

Dungey was able to to throw for 355 yards and and two touchdowns against Colgate. However, that isn’t even the most impressive stat of the evening. According to ESPN, Dungey was 34-40 passing throughout the game as well. It was an impressive display of accuracy and good decisions making all night long.

At the same time, Syracuse made sure that Dungey had short, comeback routes on almost every passing play. He is able to get the ball out of his hands so quick that Colgate had a hard time adjusting throughout the game. Louisville will need to stay on their assignments to be successful in this game.

It’s going to be important for Louisville’s defense to keep their motor running on defense the entire game. This is not a team that you cannot afford to take a couple plays off on. If the Cardinals can be physical with their corners and disrupt the line of scrimmage, they will have no problem beating an up-and-coming Syracuse football team.

Sep 2, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo (7) catches a pass for a touchdown as Colgate Raiders defensive back Cortney Mimms (26) defends during the first quarter at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

No. 2: Syracuse Wide Receiver, Amba Etta-Tawo

The transfer from Maryland had a huge first game with Syracuse last Friday night. Syracuse now has a legitimate receiving threat to aid head coach Dino Baber’s system and quarterback Eric Dungey. At 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, Etta-Tawo is a guy that Louisville needs to keep an eye on this coming Friday night.

Speaking of his huge first game with Syracuse, he was able to pull down 12 receptions for 210 yards and one touchdown. The Orange’s offense relies largely around completing short, quick passes throughout the game. They can nickel and dime teams all game long.

Etta-Tawo’s biggest grab of the night was a 43 yard touchdown from Dungey in the first half of their game versus Colgate. They caught the Raiders sleeping at a crucial point in the game. Just because they want to run short, quick routes, doesn’t mean that they wont try to force the football down the field.

Louisville is set to face some great receivers for the rest of this season. Etta-Tawo is an experienced receiver who can really cause problems for shorter defensive backs. If the Cardinals can be physical with him, they should be able to contain how many receiving yards he has in this game.

He will still get his fair of receptions, but as long as they aren’t big plays, Louisville will walk out of New York victorious.

Sep 1, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back L.J. Scott (27) tries to avoid the tackle of Charlotte 49ers linebacker Nick Cook (6) while running the ball during the second quarter at Papa John

No. 1: How well Lamar Jackson can continue to spread the football around.

Lamar Jackson and Kyle Bolin did an incredible job Thursday evening of highlighting just how many weapons Louisville has in the passing game. Most teams have one or two guys that opposing defenses need to focus on in order to shut down their offense. That may not be the case for the Louisville football team and head coach Bobby Petrino this season.

Louisville was able to complete a pass to 16 different receivers in their 70-14 win over the Charlotte 49ers. That is something that Louisville fans can be very, very proud of.

There were a few different reasons for that happening though. Charlotte struggled to cover simple routes against the Cardinals all evening, therefore it wasn’t too hard to get the ball to those guys. However, it did prove that Louisville has a variety of players that will beat you in the passing game. It makes it even more deadly that Lamar Jackson can beat anyone with his speed as well.

Syracuse should be no different than any other average ACC team this season. They will struggle to contain Lamar Jackson and cover all of Louisville’s players in the passing game. If Jackson is able to complete a pass to at least eight different guys on Friday night, Louisville should have no trouble moving the football.