clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Wednesday Morning Cardinal News And Notes

We're already here, Syracuse.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium Spread Check: Louisville by 2.5.

I_medium Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician hits you with all the standard information necessary to prepare for Friday's game.

I_medium Syracuse is likely to be without three key players -- cornerback Wayne Morgan, tight end Kendall Moore and starting right tackle Ivan Foy -- against the Cards on Friday.

Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer ruled cornerback Wayne Morgan out of Friday's game against Louisville in his Tuesday teleconference.

Previously the Orange's third-choice cornerback, Morgan missed SU's 31-15 loss to Notre Dame after having a knee procedure late last week. He won't play when the Orange (2-2) takes on the Cardinals (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) Friday at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, Shafer said. Additionally, tight end Kendall Moore and starting right tackle Ivan Foy are "probably doubtful" for the game against the Cardinals, too.

With Morgan out against Notre Dame, converted wide receiver Corey Winfield played significant snaps, getting beat by Will Fuller for a 72-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Morgan's absence also forced Julian Whigham and Brandon Reddish to play more downs.

I_medium The Louisville men's soccer team tasted defeat inside Lynn Stadium for the first time after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Ohio State Tuesday night. The Cards will defend their unblemished ACC mark on Friday when they travel to NC State for a 7 p.m. match that will be carried on ESPN3.

I_medium Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution says that Georgia fans who celebrated the departure of Todd Grantham just may have been wrong.

I_medium Louisville is on upset watch this weekend according to ESPN's Andrea Adelson.

Louisville (4-1, 2-1) at Syracuse (2-2), 7 p.m., ESPN. Line: Louisville by 4. The last time the Cardinals took a trip to the Carrier Dome, they were unbeaten and ranked No. 9 in the country. They promptly lost, as Scott Shafer completely befuddled Teddy Bridgewater and company while serving as defensive coordinator. Shafer is now the head coach, though Louisville looks radically different than the team that came to town in 2012. The offense has been running in starts and stops, and quarterback remains up in the air. Meanwhile, Syracuse had some highlights on defense in a loss to Notre Dame that it can perhaps build upon headed into its league opener.

I_medium Via Troy Machir, Louisville is one of 15 Big Five conference programs that has never hosted an ESPN College GameDay (football). The other 14: Baylor, Cal, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Virginia and Washington State.

I_medium Speaking of GameDay, the basketball version of the show announced some major changes on Tuesday. First, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams were named as the replacements for Digger Phelps and Jalen Rose. They'll join Jay Bilas and Rece Davis to make up the show's quartet.

Second, the show will be following in the footsteps of its football counterpart by waiting until the start of a week to announce its next site. The move is a no-brainer, but it probably ruins the "guarantee" that Davis gave us last year of the show making its first trip to the Yum Center. Still, so long as Louisville comes at least moderately close to its preseason expectations, it's a safe bet that the show winds up making an appearance here.

I_medium Louisville's inability to keep from fumbling the ball against Wake Forest was one of the 10 worst performances of the weekend in college football.

I_medium College hoops throwin' shade.

I_medium For the second straight week, Louisville is a 300/1 shot to win the national championship in Vegas. The Cards and Georgia Tech are the last of the 31 teams still on the board.

Team                           Odds on 9/23/14           Current Odds

Alabama                                   13/2                  6/1

Florida State                             15/2                  15/2

Oklahoma                                 15/2                  15/2

Auburn                                      15/2                  8/1

Oregon                                     9/1                    8/1

UCLA                                        18/1                  12/1

Baylor                                       18/1                  14/1

Georgia                                    16/1                  14/1

Michigan State                          20/1                  14/1

Texas A&M                               12/1                  14/1

Ohio State                                20/1                  20/1

Notre Dame                              25/1                  25/1

Mississippi                               33/1                  33/1

Mississippi State                       40/1                  33/1

USC                                         25/1                  33/1

Nebraska                                  40/1                  40/1

Stanford                                   40/1                  40/1

BYU                                        66/1                  50/1

LSU                                         50/1                  50/1

TCU                                          75/1                  50/1

Wisconsin                                 40/1                  50/1

Florida                                      100/1                100/1

Missouri                                    300/1                100/1

Oklahoma State                        300/1                100/1

Iowa                                         150/1                150/1

Kansas State                            150/1                150/1

Arizona                                     150/1                200/1

Marshall                                    100/1                200/1

Maryland                                   200/1                200/1

Georgia Tech                            300/1                300/1

Louisville                                  300/1                300/1

South Carolina                          40/1                  Off the Board

Penn State                                66/1                  Off the Board

Washington                               75/1                  Off the Board

Arizona State                            100/1                Off the Board

Cincinnati                                  300/1                Off the Board

Oregon State                            300/1                Off the Board

North Carolina                           500/1                Off the Board

Pittsburgh                                 500/1                Off the Board

Rutgers                                     500/1                Off the Board

Tennessee                                500/1                Off the Board

Texas                                       500/1                Off the Board

Gerod Holliman is not receiving Heisman odds ... yet.

I_medium A pair of the prizes for this contest include a basketball autographed by Russ Smith and a Malcolm X pamphlet signed by Muhammad Ali.

I_medium ESPN wonders whether surprising Georgia Tech is a legitimate threat to win the ACC title.

I_medium Eli Rogers has had no problem reminding his teammates this week of what happened the last time the Cards went to the Carrier Dome.

"They beat us - bad. I remember that," Rogers said, recalling the loss that halted the Cardinals' first rise into the top 10 since 2007 and derailed their 9-0 start. Syracuse thumped them that day, rolling up 524 yards of offense and handing them their largest margin of defeat in Charlie Strong's four years as head coach.

Of course, U of L still finished 11-2 that season, beating Florida in the Sugar Bowl to cap one of the program's best seasons. But the feelings from that Syracuse game, which started a two-game skid for the Cards, still lingered as game preparation for the rematch began.

"I brought it up in practice," Rogers said. "I just told the team and reminded them about that game and how important it is to practice hard through this week."

I_medium Kevin Ware makes ESPN's list of 10 overlooked players who figure to have a big impact on the upcoming hoops season.

I_medium Shakin the Southland breaks down Clemson's running game up to this point in the season. The Cards will see that running game firsthand in two Saturdays.

I_medium The formula utilized by the Football Outsiders geniuses has Louisville as the No. 3 defense in the country.

I_medium Syracuse defensive coordinator George McDonald previews Louisville:


I_medium DeJuan Wheat is on Twitter -- @DWSports32

I_medium Your Syracuse depth chart for Friday.

I_medium I love this:

I_medium Cardinal commit Dahu Green went national on Tuesday. He's going to go even more national once he gets to Louisville.

I_medium It's looking like Yankuba Sima could wind up being the annual U of L signee whom no one had heard of two months earlier.

I_medium The U of L women's tennis team went 4-0 on the final day of the Notre Dame Invitational, and finished the three-day tournament with a 9-3 mark in singles play.

I_medium Charles gon' Charles.

I_medium The U of L men's soccer team was No. 8 in the first installment of the RPI heading into last night's match.

I_medium Congrats to the U of L men's golf team on capturing first place at the Cardinal Intercollegiate tournament on Tuesday. Sophomore Robert Geibel was the top Cardinal finisher, posting a score of 215 to finish the event tied for third place.

I_medium We've started our preseason top 25 college hoops countdown over at SB Nation with No. 25 Kansas State and No. 24 Harvard.

I_medium This should be cool.

I_medium U of L volleyballer Tara Gowan has a pretty interesting backstory.

I_medium Seeing more Brandon Radcliff on Friday night is probably a safe bet.

I_medium Some of the Wake Forest fans who made the trip up to Louisville last weekend were extremely impressed with both the city and its people.

During our recent visit to Louisville to watch our Wake Forest football team, I was approached by several people in our hotel, in the parking lots, at the stadium, and in a local restaurant. We were greeted and welcomed to the city and to The Ville by many.

We want to recognize one very nice family that we met in an restaurant on Breckenridge Lane. After some small talk about the day's game and Louisville's move to the ACC, we were shocked to later learn that the gentleman and his family had paid for our dinner. We were impressed by the hospitality by the citizens of your fine city and hope we can show equal respect when the Cardinals make the trip to Wake Forest and Winston-Salem, N.C.

MIKE AND CECILIA KING

Pinnacle, N.C. 27043 -

I_medium This breakdown of Teddy Bridgewater's old Gruden's QB Camp segment might be one of the strangest and most over-the-top things I've ever read 20 percent of.

I_medium This is the best tweet from Syracuse game week so far.

I_medium We are the innovators. They are imitators.

I_medium ESPN's Matt Fortuna says Syracuse could find success on Friday by taking a cue from something they did before the 2012 game.

I_medium Syracuse will see Louisville's quarterback controversy and raise it a kicker controversy.

I_medium And finally, Marquette?

I can accept that.

More from Card Chronicle

More From Card Chronicle