LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Even one of Syracuse’s best efforts of the season Saturday couldn’t stop the Orange from finishing with the worst record in school history.

Syracuse trailed by just seven points late in the third quarter, but an interception off a bobbled pass and a missed SU field goal off the left upright in the fourth quarter killed Syracuse’s upset hopes against No. 17 Louisville.

The Cardinals won, 41-17, before 37,896 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.

‘We played our best game,’ SU head coach Greg Robinson said. ‘We looked like a functional football team.’

The final score didn’t give any indication that Syracuse (1-10, 0-7 Big East) had hopes of avoiding its first 10-loss season ever.

But the Orange did.

Louisville (8-2, 4-2) added a pair of late touchdowns in the final 3:32 to make the game look lopsided. But for most of the second half, Syracuse trailed by 10 points or less and seemed poised to grab an upset and end Robinson’s inaugural season with a much needed win.

Instead, trailing by seven on the final play of the third quarter and facing third-and-12 from his own 25, quarterback Perry Patterson threw a slant to Tim Lane, who bobbled the catch, allowing UL defensive end Zach Anderson to pick off the pass and take it to the 27.

Art Carmody kicked a 44-yard field goal four plays later with 12:37 remaining, giving Louisville a 27-17 lead.

Syracuse’s offense mounted another charge the following series but an intentional grounding penalty pushed SU deep into field goal range and cost the Orange a chance at a touchdown.

On second down from the SU, Patterson completed a 43-yard pass to Rice Moss, putting SU at the Louisville 11. On second down from the 13, though, the referees whistled Patterson for intentional grounding, costing Syracuse 18 yards.

Patterson scrambled out of the pocket before coming back into it and then, facing a sack, he threw toward the sideline. The closest receiver was about 10 yards away and the referee hesitated before pulling a flag.

On third-and-30 from the 31 Patterson looked over the middle to Lane, who stretched high for the ball, but dropped it coming down.

John Barker hit the left upright on a low, line-drive kick on the following play, the third time he’s hit an upright on a kick this year. The miss ended SU’s upset hopes with 8:42 remaining.

‘We make that field goal, it puts the pressure back on them,’ Robinson said. ‘It’s going to be an interesting ball game. It didn’t come out that way.’

When tailback Paul Chiara scored with 6:29 remaining in the third quarter on a 24-yard touchdown run, Syracuse trailed by just a touchdown, 24-17, and the momentum seemed to switch sides.

‘We thought we were going to pull it out,’ SU linebacker Kelvin Smith said. ‘It came down to the fourth quarter and we were still in it. We took their quarterback out (UL quarterback Brian Brohm left in the third quarter with a knee injury). We thought we were going to win the game.’

After turning three first-half Louisville turnovers into just three points, Syracuse still had a shot halfway through the third quarter. Being a 35.5-point underdog, not many people gave Syracuse that chance.

But the Orange’s inability to score doomed it once again.

Few predicted SU’s lone win would come against Buffalo, 31-0, in the Carrier Dome on Sept. 10. That day seemed to ignite a lackluster Syracuse offense that struggled in a 15-7 loss to West Virginia opening weekend.

Instead, that lone game proved the exception to Syracuse’s season-long offensive malaise.

For part of the afternoon Saturday, Syracuse showed signs of life.

Patterson replaced starting quarterback Joe Fields after the first series and threw the ball well, completing 19-of-39 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown. He threw two interceptions, one at the end of the game and the other on the dropped catch.

Sophomore wide receiver Rice Moss benefited most from Patterson’s day, picking up six catches for 116 yards. SU’s wide receivers routinely got open and offensive coordinator Brian Pariani put more confidence in Patterson after the junior demonstrated early he could hit his open targets.

Saturday was Syracuse’s best chance at a victory since a 22-16 loss to Cincinnati on Oct. 29. But even Patterson’s best day in the pocket and three Louisville turnovers couldn’t prevent the Orange from finishing the year with nine straight losses.

‘I’m sick to my stomach about how this ended because we were close,’ Robinson said. ‘But I saw a lot of encouraging things out there. I wish there was another season to play right now. Absolutely, I want to play. … We finally got it going; let’s go again. I’d play (Louisville) again. Doggone it.’

Published on November 28, 2005 at 12:00 pm