Louisville Blows By Syracuse Behind Stellar First Half Performance

On Lamar Jackson day in the city, the University of Louisville football team blew by the Syracuse Orange 41-3 in Cardinal Stadium behind a huge first half performance. Malik Cunningham recorded five touchdowns in the opening two quarters and the Cardinals were able to put the game out of reach by halftime.

The Cardinals entered the game having rushed for over 200 yards in each of the last five games; it didn’t take long for the team to pick up where they left off. The offense recorded 74 yards on the ground on the first drive thanks to a couple big runs from Jalen Mitchell, while Malik Cunningham scored his 16th rushing touchdown of the season to put Louisville up 7-0 early on.

A 43-yard field goal from Syracuse’s Andre Szmyt was quickly followed by a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped off by 33-yard connection between Cunningham and Tyler Harrell that increased the Louisville lead to 11 late in the first quarter.

The Cardinals capitalized on short field position on the following drive; Ahmari Huggins-Bruce’s touchdown reception made it 21-3 in the second quarter.

To make matters worse for the Orange, Syracuse’s leading tackler, Mikel Jones, was ejected due to a targeting call. Overall, Louisville scored five touchdowns on the six drives of the half and went into the locker room with a commanding 35-3 lead.

A pair of James Turner field goals in the second half gave Louisville a 41-3 win.

Cunningham finished the game 13-18 passing with 209 yards and four touchdowns, to go with 19 yards rushing and one touchdown. Three different Cardinals caught a touchdown (Huggins-Bruce (2), Harrell, and Jordan Watkins). The victory snaps a two-game losing skid, and the 5-5 Cardinals look to secure bowl eligibility against Duke on Thursday evening.

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