The Atlantic Line
Louisville 34, Syracuse 26: Kienholz's big plays outlast the Orange's yardage
Lincoln Kienholz's 82-yard run and late first-half strike carried Louisville past Syracuse, which covered 14.5 despite three turnovers.
Louisville won at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday without winning much of the box score. Syracuse had more yards, 462 to 425, and 26 first downs to 15, and held the ball for 32:24. It also turned it over three times and converted 3 of 14 third downs.
Louisville scored on explosive plays. Lincoln Kienholz's 82-yard touchdown run and his 46-yard throw to Isaac Brown with 28 seconds left in the half were the swings that put the Cardinals ahead for good. The Cardinals are 4-3; Syracuse falls to 2-4.
How it was won
Syracuse led early. Shay Barker hit a 26-yard field goal, and Malachi Nelson found Umari Hatcher for 41 yards to make it 10-0 midway through the first quarter. Keyjuan Brown answered with a 5-yard run, and Kienholz's 82-yard run put Louisville up 14-10 before the quarter ended.
The second quarter traded the lead four times. Nelson hit Calvin Russell III for 24 yards, but Barker's extra point failed, leaving Syracuse ahead 16-14. Kienholz scored from a yard out for 21-16. Ahmad Miller's 20-yard run gave Syracuse a 23-21 edge with 2:55 left. Kienholz then found Isaac Brown for 46 yards, and Louisville took a 28-23 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was scoreless. Barker's 24-yard field goal early in the fourth pulled Syracuse within 28-26, and Keyjuan Brown's second 5-yard touchdown run, at 7:34, made it 34-26. Carson Hilbert's extra point failed, but Syracuse did not score again.
Kienholz went 14 of 26 for 310 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and added 53 rushing yards and two scores on 10 carries. Nearly all of that ground output came on the one long run. Keyjuan Brown had 50 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Lawayne McCoy caught five passes for 93 yards, and TreyShun Hurry had four for 66.
For Syracuse, Hatcher was the best player on the field: 13 catches, 224 yards and a touchdown. Nelson completed 26 of 39 for 315 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Miller ran 18 times for 123 yards and a score. Louisville finished 6 of 13 on third down with two turnovers.
Against the number
Louisville closed at -14.5 and won by eight, so Syracuse covered. The Orange's yardage and first-down edge showed up here even as the turnovers cost them the game.
The total closed at 56.5, and 60 points went over, with 51 of them scored in the first half. The second half produced only nine points, and two missed extra points kept the final number lower than it might have been.
On the moneyline, Louisville at -650 paid the short price, and Syracuse at +470 came up a score short. The full closing board is on the game page.
What's next
Louisville has a week off before hosting Stanford on Saturday, October 31. The Cardinals have won two straight after back-to-back three-point losses to Wake Forest and NC State.
Syracuse goes to North Carolina on Saturday, October 24, on ACC Network. The Orange have lost three of their last four, all by eight points or fewer except the 27-13 loss at Pittsburgh.
