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Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

Louisville looking to end hex against Syracuse

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Steve Kragthorpe was a business major in college, so forgive him if English isn't his strong suit.

Asked on Monday if he feels like Syracuse has served as a nemesis to the Cardinals (3-6, 0-4 Big East) over the last two years, Kragthorpe just laughed.

"They're all nemesis, wait, what's the plural?" he said. "I don't look at any game differently. I think they all are."

Maybe, but the Orange (3-6, 0-4) have been a particularly painful thorn in the side of the Cardinals over the last two years.

Syracuse upset Louisville 38-35 in 2007, a loss that knocked the Cardinals out of the Top 25 and sent them into a tailspin from which they have yet to recover.

They had a chance last year. Louisville appeared to be heading in the right direction after knocking off South Florida to get to 5-2. The next week the Orange stunned the Cardinals 28-21 in the Carrier Dome.

Louisville hasn't won a Big East game since, losing nine straight and need a win over Syracuse on Saturday to keep any remote hopes for an unlikely bowl berth alive.

"It's the fourth quarter of our season," Kragthorpe said.

And possibly the final days of Kragthorpe's tenure. The third-year coach readily admits he's not the most popular person in town since taking over a program coming off an Orange Bowl win.

The dissatisfaction has translated into empty seats at Cardinals Stadium. A record-low crowd of just over 21,000 watched Louisville's win over Arkansas State two weeks ago,

"I know there's people that don't like me, don't like way I do things, if they don't want to come support me, that's fine," Kragthorpe said. "But I think they need to come and support these players."

The Cardinals hardly appear ready to throw in the season. Louisville hung tough in a 17-9 loss at West Virginia on Saturday, holding the Mountaineers to 273 yards of total offense.

Still, it wasn't enough. A penalty wiped out a Doug Beaumont touchdown and a fumble by redshirt freshman running back Darius Ashley cost the Cardinals another scoring opportunity.

That's the way it's been all season for the Cardinals, who rank last in the Big East in scoring offense at just 19 points a game, half of what they averaged three years ago.

The problem isn't necessarily that the Cardinals aren't moving the ball. They're fourth in the conference in first downs despite starting three different quarterbacks and a handful of running backs.

What the Cardinals are lacking are big plays. Quarterback Will Stein managed just 100 yards passing against the Mountaineers and Louisville is averaging just 6.9 yards per pass. The Cardinals averaged 9.8 yards a pass in 2006.

The lack of consistent playmakers at receiver and a sometimes shaky offensive line have contributed to the problem. Kragthorpe said big plays are still a part of the game plan, but defenses are sitting back and taking it away. He pointed to West Virginia, which changed its defensive package after the Mountaineers were shredded by South Florida a week earlier.

"We wanted to take some shots, but they were playing 15 yards off our guys," he said.

So instead the Cardinals chose to grind it out, a strategy that helped them control the clock and keep things close. Ashley stepped in for injured starter Victor Anderson and gained a career-high 164 yards on 33 carries. Yet it was his costly fumble in West Virginia territory that he said will stick with him.

"A lot of times we're shooting ourselves in the foot getting down there," Ashley said.

The Cardinals are running out of chances to get things corrected, and they know it.

"We can win games, that's why we continue to fight, continue to come out to practice and work hard," said defensive end Greg Scruggs. "If we keep that drive, we keep that confidence, we will win these last three games."