After defeating Wake Forest, Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino sensed a different enthusiasm for his team’s next opponent.

“I just heard it after our game, after the Wake Forest game, the players being excited about going back to Syracuse,” Petrino said during the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ teleconference on Wednesday. “I asked one of our coaches, ‘What’s that all about?’”

It’s about his Cardinals having a chance to redeem themselves after being upset, 45-26, in the Carrier Dome on Nov. 10, 2012. Louisville came with a spotless 9-0 record, the No. 11 rank  in the country and a high-octane offense powered by Teddy Bridgewater.

But the Syracuse offense, on SU’s Senior Day, blew out the Cardinals on ABC.

“Obviously it was a good victory for us,” said SU head coach Scott Shafer, who was then the Orange’s defensive coordinator, on the ACC coaches’ teleconference Wednesday. “The kids played hard, played well offensively. Ryan Nassib played well.”

The quarterback, playing his last game in the Carrier Dome, completed just 15 passes but averaged 16 yards per completion and chucked three touchdown passes — two to fellow senior Alec Lemon — as he led the Orange to 514 yards of total offense. Bridgewater’s 424 yards through the air were all in vain.

But Shafer was quick to turn the page from the past and focus on Syracuse’s (2-2) 7 p.m. date with Louisville (4-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) in the Carrier Dome on Friday night.

“Just a great victory in the Dome and that sort of thing,” Shafer said, “but from a coach’s perspective that’s a long time ago and a lot different situation than we’re fronted with right now.”

 

Published on October 1, 2014 at 1:17 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb