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Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

Congrats to Erik and Annie Gregory, who have built their marriage around the notion of Louisville beating Syracuse Friday night.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium Spread check: Holding strong at Louisville -14.5.

I_medium On the weekly ACC coaches' teleconference today, Dino Babers laughed off Bobby Petrino's implication that Syracuse might be snapping the ball before the down and distance chains are set, an assertion why the 'Cuse media is now referring to as "Chainghazi."

Babers said he was unconcerned with the legality of his offense -€” which Louisville football coachBobby Petrino heavily questioned on Tuesday, saying the Orange were snapping the ball before the down markers were moved in their win over Colgate last week.

"Well, I always was under the impression that the (down) box was the most important thing," Babers said. "If the box was set, then the chains could come later. But I'm sure the officials will straighten it out and tell us how they do it."

Babers even laughed when asked if an official or an opposing coach had ever questioned him about his offense playing too fast that it was "breaking the rules" prior to Petrino's claims this week.

"(Laughs) No, I haven't it," Babers said. "And I'm not concerned with the chains being set. I'm concerned with all the defensive speed they have, and offensive speed they have and really good coaching and physical players.

"I don't think the game is going to be decided about the one or two seconds of the chains being set or not. I'm more concerned about that top-20 ranked football team he's bringing up in here than whether the chains are set or not."

Yes.....yes......let the ACC hate flow early.

Petrino, for what it's worth, also addressed the issue during his time on the call.

"You've got to let the chains get down and be set before they can snap the ball again, and there were a couple times in that game where they didn't get set," Petrino said. "And we have talked to the conference office and that's part of the officials' responsibility to make sure the chains are set before they let the ball be snapped."

You'll snap the ball when DeAngelo Brown tells you to snap the ball.

I_medium The new Showtime series following around Florida State this season debuted last night, and it's definitely worth your time. Also, go back and watch the 2015 series with Notre Dame if you're jonesing for as much college football as you can fit into your skull right now. It was fantastic.

Already excited for the week three episode.

I_medium Todd Grantham and his defensive players are ready for Syracuse's up-tempo attack.

A key to Dino Baber's offense is the fast tempo, quick pace. The Orange doesn't give its opponents a lot of time to set up defensively before snapping the ball.

They move the ball so fast, in fact, that head coach Bobby Petrino mentioned looking into the legality of it. He says the team snaps the ball before the down markers are even moved.

The hope is to catch defenses off guard and in unorganized positions. The hurry-up offense can also lead to lack of communication, something Louisville is heavily focused on preventing this week.

"It's the way you prepare for it. That's what we're doing, preparing very well for it," junior defensive lineman Chris Williams said. "You know, Coach Petrino and the boys are doing a great job with the sound systems in practice getting us ready for the noise. The scout team is doing a great job getting us ready for the tempo."

The scout team is tasked with replicating Syracuse's fast tempo this week in practice but defensive coordinator Todd Grantham says his side of the ball has seen this style of play before.

"It's college football. We've played fast teams before and we'll play them again," Grantham said. "I mean, it's the way college football is so we understand that. We know as soon as we make a tackle we need to get lined up and go play so we'll deal with it."

It's also important to note that Grantham's defense faces a fast offense with Lamar Jackson at the helm every day in practice.

"We're used to the quick tempo and fast pace play," red-shirt junior linebacker Stacy Thomas said.

I_medium Former Cardinal soccer standout Ricardo Valazco has been signed by Real Salt Lake.

I_medium The U of L men's soccer team tasted defeat for the worst time in 2016 last night with a 1-0 loss at No. 16 Kentucky. The Cards had taken five of their last six from the Cats before falling in Lexington.

I_medium Rapper Wale is showing Teddy some love.

I_medium Louisville's Lotta Kahlert has been named ACC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week.

I_medium ESPN's new power rankings have three Louisville opponents in the top five, and the Cardinals themselves at No. 12.

12. Louisville Cardinals (1-0)

Trending:

Preseason ranking: 19
Week 1 result: Defeated Charlotte 70-14

Lamar Jackson put his name in the super-early Heisman Trophy conversation by accounting for eight touchdowns in a single half during a 70-14 romp over FBS newbie Charlotte. The Cardinals go to Syracuse this week before hosting Florida State in Week 3.

I_medium The fine folks over at WRAL in North Carolina have a very informative post discussing what we learned about the ACC in week one.

I_medium Video is fine. Hashtag is atrocious.

I_medium Dino Babers says that emulating Lamar Jackson in practice is "impossible." They're still trying though.

In 10-to-15 seconds increments, the Syracuse front seven has been running back and forth across the practice field this week chasing Mo Hasan.

Hasan, a freshman walk-on quarterback, is "sneaky fast," according to junior linebacker Zaire Franklin, and doing everything he can to prepare the Orange for Louisville star Lamar Jackson.

But SU players, like head coach Dino Babers, know no one on SU's roster can really compare to U of L's Heisman Trophy candidate.

"No quarterback out there (in college football) can really move like Lamar Jackson," freshman defensive end Kendall Coleman said.

Franklin, Coleman and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Kayton Samuels emphasized containment and condensing the pocket when speaking about Jackson during interviews Tuesday night. The game plan is to force Jackson, who torched Charlotte for 405 total yards and eight touchdowns in one half of football on Thursday, to beat the Orange with his arm.

And Syracuse (1-0) will need to find some success against Jackson if it wants a chance to upend No. 13 Louisville (1-0).

"It's really just working on discipline, making sure your eyes are in the right place and making sure everyone's handling their responsibilities," Franklin said. "I think if we do that, everything will fall into place."

I_medium The folks over at Troy Nunes discuss what the attendance is going to look like Friday night at the Carrier Dome.

I_medium ESPN's Matt Fortuna breaks down what to watch for in the ACC in week two.

Here are the biggest ACC storylines to keep an eye on as Week 2 approaches. Luckily for ACC fans, you get another early start thanks to a Friday night tilt.

Get your popcorn ready: It's Jackson vs. Dungey

Quarterback Lamar Jackson did nothing to temper the preseason hype around him, as he tallied eight total touchdowns in the first half of Louisville's opener against Charlotte -- a 70-14 blowout. Syracuse coach Dino Babers, meanwhile, may have simply described his offense as "OK" in its debut against Colgate, but quarterback Eric Dungey certainly looked the part in going 34-for-40 while throwing for 355 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-7 victory. Facing the Cardinals is a tall task for a young Orange team in just its second game under Babers, but if their opener was any indication, the nation will be nothing if not entertained as these ACC Atlantic squads take center stage Friday night at the Carrier Dome.

I_medium This is very accurate.

I_medium The lovely humans over at House of Cards have a new hype video for Syracuse.

I_medium The U of L women's soccer team is losing two players who have been called up by their respective national teams.

University of Louisville freshmen Sarah Feola and Gabrielle Kouzelos have been called up to participate in their national team camps this week.  Feola was called up by Canada while Kouzelos was called up by the United States. 

"We are thrilled for both Sarah(Canada) and Gabby(USA) to have this opportunity to represent their countries," said head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes.   "While it's difficult to have them miss part of our season- it is an honor to represent your country and when any player in this program has the opportunity to do so- we will gladly support them.  Sarah is competing for a roster spot for the Under 20 World Cup tournament that will be held in Papua New Guinea in November and Gabby is with the Under 18's at a camp in Carson California. We wish them both very well and we are excited for them to return to their Louisville family soon."

I_medium David Pollack is doubling down on his assertion that Lamar Jackson is no fluke (video).

I_medium One Associated Press writer did not believe Louisville was worthy of a top 25 vote this week. This is said voter:

A. Jude. Don't let me down. Take your sad poll, and make it better.

I_medium Michigan State is playing a typically Tom Izzo non-conference schedule this season. Yahoo examines how the rest of the Big 10 is filling its non-conference plate this winter.

I_medium Chad Kelly had a worse start to the work week than you.

I_medium Lamar Jackson has more touchdowns by himself than 122 of the other 127 teams in the FBS.

I_medium Louisville baseball has it rolling in recruiting. The Cards aren't going anywhere for a long time.

I_medium Doug Beaumont and Adam Froman discuss Louisville vs. Syracuse on their weekly podcast.

I_medium Fall baseball is back at Jim Patterson Stadium, where the Cards will host afternoon scrimmages on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Both scrimmages are free and open to the public.

I_medium The sports staff at The Daily Orange discusses, among other things, what Syracuse needs to do in order to spring the upset on Friday.

2. What must the Orange do to beat Louisville?

C.L.: Run the dang ball. If I'm Syracuse, I want Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson on the sideline as much as possible. No reason to get demoralized by a big play when you can just grind Louisville out. And grinding the Cardinals doesn't necessarily mean long drives in terms of time. Dinking and dunking should work for SU just fine. That said, I don't really know what you can do against Jackson defensively. Just keep bending and hope the offense can keep pace, I guess.

J.M.: Everything. Syracuse has to do everything right. Offense, defense, special teams, clock management — you name it. Louisville smacked Charlotte around in its season opener, a 7014 drubbing. And Louisville blew out Syracuse last year, too. One game against an FCS opponent is not enough time to work out the kinds of new systems. The Orange has basically no room for error.

M.S.: Somehow contain Jackson, which is miles harder than it sounds. The dual-threat sophomore can beat you in so many ways, and he could very well leave the Syracuse defense scrambling all over the field. He ran for over 100 yards and two touchdowns against Charlotte, but he also has two of the conference's best receivers in Jamari Staples and James Quick. If you think Syracuse's offense is explosive, just wait until you see Louisville. With the current state of the SU defense — young and flawed — it will take a herculean performance from it to keep this game close against Jackson and company.

I_medium Louisville has spent much of this week snapping the ball every 16 seconds to prepare for Syracuse's tempo.

I_medium Gobbler Country (Virginia Tech) has Louisville at No. 3 in its week one ACC power rankings. A million dollars to anyone who guesses the two teams above them.

I_medium Soon, 'Cuse .... soon.

I_medium Week two of the Kentucky Humane Society Puppy Pick 'Em Challenge arrives tomorrow, which means today you get to pick our high school game of the week.

I_medium CBS thinks you should bet the under Friday night.

I_medium And finally, beat Syracuse.

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