Syracuse Loses 11th-Straight ACC Game

On a cold night in Central New York, the ice-cold Syracuse Orange, 0-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), opened up the Dome for a bout with the Louisville Cardinals, who came in at 2-2 in conference play.

Syracuse's defense started things off on a positive note when senior Chris Peal, who had been moved from cornerback to safety, crossed in on the route to prevent the completion, bringing up fourth down and a subsequent punt by the Cardinal on Louisville's opening drive.

On Syracuse's first play of the game, Syracuse senior transfer quarterback Malachi Nelson sent the ball down the field to sixth-year wide receiver Umari Hatcher for a 65-yard gain. The Orange would come away with three points on this drive thanks to a 26-yard field goal by true freshman kicker Shay Barker to make it 3-0 Orange at the 11:50 mark of the first quarter. This touchdown was Hatcher's seventh of the season; he came into this game tied for sixth in the nation in receiving touchdowns amongst 130+ Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs.

Louisville's fifth play of their second drive of the night would be thwarted by junior nickel Davien Kerr who intercepted Louisville senior quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, giving Syracuse possession on Louisville's side of the field, at their 43-yard line.

On the third play of this second drive for the Orange, Nelson looked to Hatcher once again on what looked very similar to the very first play of the game by the Orange, with Nelson airing out to Hatcher in single-coverage. This time, Hatcher got into the end zone after catching the ball in stride for a 41-yard score to make it 10-0 Syracuse in the first quarter, at the 8:45 mark.

The Cardinals, however, would answer this time, scoring on their third drive when senior running back Keyjuan Brown ran the ball in from five yards out, a play set up by Kienholz finding junior wide receiver Lawayne McCoy for a 40-yard gain to the Orange five-yard line. This score brought the game to 10-7 at the 6:04 mark.

Syracuse would not gain a new set of downs from their own 40 on their third drive when Nelson sent a pass in the backfield to junior transfer running back Ju'Juan Johnson who caught the ball but gained two yards on 3rd-&-3, bringing up the first punt by the Orange on the night.

After two completed passes by Kienholz on the Cardinals' fourth drive, Kienholz would keep the ball himself, rush to the right, find a seam, and take the ball 82 yards to paydirt to give Louisville their first lead of the game, 14-10, with 2:19 remaining in the opening quarter.

Syracuse would take their fourth drive out of the first and into the second quarter, with freshman wide receiver Calvin Russell, III, attaining his first collegiate touchdown on a 24-yard pass-play from Nelson just five seconds into the second quarter.

But...

Russell would be flagged for throwing the football into the stands and, as a consequence of that, the Orange had to attempt their extra point after walking backward 15 yards.

Barker would miss, so Syracuse's lead would be less than a field goal, at 16-14.

Louisville's fifth drive would go 10 plays and end across the Syracuse goal-line with a one-yard keeper up the middle by Kienholz to take the lead back for the Cardinals, at 21-16, with 9:35 left in the first half.

On Syracuse's fifth drive, the Orange would get a break when their 14th play, a pass attempt by Nelson to Hatcher would fall incomplete but the Cardinals would be flagged on the play for an off-sides penalty, giving the Orange another shot at fourth down and making it 4th-&-3 instead of 4th-&-8. Nelson would find senior tight end Noah Meyers for a first down on a 10-yard gain, moving the ball inside the Louisville redzone, at their 15-yard line.

The Orange had another fourth-down conversion earlier on this drive when senior running back Ahmad Miller gained three yards on 4th-&-1 to keep the drive alive.

Miller would come up big for Syracuse once again on this drive when he ran the ball into the end zone from 20 yards out after a five-yard penalty on the Orange for a false start. This score placed Syracuse back ahead of Louisville, at 23-21, with 2:55 before halftime. The Orange ran 16 plays and took over six minutes off of the clock on this drive.

On 3rd-&-5 on Louisville's sixth drive of the night, McCoy would fake out not one, not two, but three Syracuse defenders, gaining a first down on his catch-and-run that went six yards.

Then on 3rd-&-11 on the same drive, Keyjuan Brown gained 20 yards and a new set of downs.

Two plays later, with under a minute to play in the half, Kienholz would find junior running back Isaac Brown who would catch the ball, use the blocking, and turn on the jets against an Orange defense that was no contest to him en route to a 46-yard score that put the lead back in the nest for the Cardinals, ahead 28-23 with 28 seconds left in the opening 30 minutes.

Syracuse would punt away their sixth drive to end the first half, with the Orange getting first crack at possession in the second half after winning the opening toss.

In the first half, Kienholz went 10-for-16 (62.5%) for 237 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He would also gain 76 yards on five carries (15.2 yards per carry) and cross the goal-line for two rushing touchdowns.

Keyjuan Brown had 39 yards on seven carries (5.6 yards per carry) with one rushing touchdown, followed by Isaac Brown who had 10 yards on five carries (2.0 yards per carry).

McCoy led the Cardinals in catches (4) and receiving yards (70) in the first half, followed by Isaac Brown who had two catches for 60 yards, with one of those resulting in the aforementioned touchdown that gave Louisville their 28-23 halftime lead.

Senior defensive ends Tyler Thompson and AJ Green each had a sack on Nelson in the opening half, while junior defensive tackle Demeco Kennedy led the Cardinals in total tackles (4), all assisted.

For Syracuse in the firs half, Nelson went 14-for-20 (70%) for 218 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Miller led the Orange backfield with 82 yards on seven carries (11.7 yards per carry), with one touchdown.

Hatcher posted over 150 receiving yards in the first half, with 151 on five catches, one going for a touchdown. He was followed by Russell's 26 yards on two catches, one of his ending in a score, and sophomore tight end Daunte Bacheyie's 17 yards on three catches.

Davien Kerr had the lone interception by either team in the first half.

Senior transfer linebacker Chris D'Appolonia led all defensive players on both teams with eight total tackles in the first half (4 solo, 4 assisted).

The Orange would begin the second half with a quick three-and-out, taking less than 1:30 off of the clock before punting the ball away.

Louisville would then give the ball right back after their own three-and-out.

Hatcher would catch three passes in a row from Nelson on Syracuse's second drive of the third quarter, the first two going for back-to-back first downs on catches of 10 and 11 yards, respectively, and the third for seven yards put Syracuse inside the Louisville redzone, on their 16-yard line.

However, on 3rd-&-2, Nelson would fake the handoff and then lose control of the ball, fumbling on the Cardinals' eight-yard line where it was recovered by Thompson of the Cardinals.

But, hold on. Kerr would have a response, gaining possession back for the Orange when he intercepted Kienholz for the second time in this game, this time chasing down a deep pass by Kienholz on third down, giving Syracuse the ball at midfield.

The Orange would go no where on this drive though, with Nelson getting sacked by junior defensive end Jerod Smith II and fifth-year linebacker Ben Perry on the first play for a loss of seven yards, followed by Nelson being picked off by junior strong safety Kaleb Beasley on the very next play, giving Louisville the ball on their own 17 at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter.

Syracuse's defense would respond positively, forcing Louisville to punt after just four plays, preventing the Cardinals from gaining points off of their interception.

At the end of the third quarter, no points were added to the scoreboard by either squad.

Syracuse would take their late third-quarter possession into the fourth and would come away with points off of a 24-yard field goal by Barker at the 12:45 mark that brought the Orange within two, down 28-26.

Less than two minutes would come off the clock as Syracuse's defense forced Louisville to punt following a three-and-out.

But the next drive by the Orange would be taken away when Cardinals' senior linebacker Stanquan Clark tipped a pass attempt by Nelson in the open field and his fellow linebacker, sophomore Cam White, would pick off the ball, giving the Cardinals possession at their own 44.

It took Louisville just five plays to capitalize on this turnover, with three of those five plays being rushes by Keyjuan Brown, the third being a five-yard run into the end zone untouched to extend the Cardinals' lead to eight after a missed extra-point attempt by sophomore kicker Carson Hilbert, making it 34-26 Louisville with 7:34 remaining.

On Syracuse's next drive, Nelson would be sacked on back-to-back plays, the first being a six-yard loss courtesy of Jerod Smith II and fifth-year defensive end Clev Lubin and the second resulting in a turnover-on-downs when Thompson got to Nelson for an eight-yard loss, giving Louisville possession at their own 45.

The Orange had a cahnce late when the defense forced a punt just inside two minutes to play.

Backup quarterback Danny Lauter, a fifth-year transfer from the Georgetown Hoyas, would come in for the final drive.

On this drive, Miller would be given the ball on 4th-&-1 and instead of gaining a yard, he would loss one, as the Orange would lose their second game in a row and fourth of their last five outings.

This is Syracuse's 11th-straight loss to an ACC opponent.

They have not won a conference game in over a year, with their last ACC victory coming on the road visiting the Clemson Tigers, where they won 34-32 on Saturday, September 20, 2025.

For Louisville, Kienholz finished 14-for-26 (53.8%) for 310 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions to go with two rushing touchdowns, gaining 53 yards on 10 carries (5.3 yards per carry).

McCoy would end the game leading the Cardinals as he did in the first half, with his final total being 93 yards on five catches. Fifth-year wide receiver TreyShun Hurry followed with 66 yards on four catches.

Kennedy would remain the Louisville leader in total tackles for the game, with nine (2 solo, 7 assisted).

On Syracuse's side, Nelson was 26-for-39 (66.7%) for 315 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Miller surpassed 100 yards on the ground with 123 on 18 carries (6.8 yards per carry), and one touchdown. Sophomore running back Tylik Hill followed with 11 carries for 26 yards (2.4 yards per carry).

Hatchersecured his third-straight game with at least 100 yards receiving, gaining 224 on 13 catches, with one touchdown. Russell had 53 yards on six catches, and one touchdown.

D'Appolonia, who led the Orange in tackles in the first half, did so for the entire game, amounting 12 (7 solo, 5 assisted).

The victory moves Louisville above .500 at 4-3 overall and in the ACC at 3-2.

Syracuse falls to 2-4 overall and 0-4 in the ACC.