No. 13 Syracuse (8-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) rolled Louisville (2-8, 0-7), 54-23, on senior night in the Carrier Dome.

Capitalizing on UofL turnovers on four-straight drives, SU built a 44-7 lead at one point. With the win, SU cruises into New York City for a matchup with No. 3 Notre Dame — which just beat Florida State 42-13 — on Saturday in Yankee Stadium.

Here’s whose stock is up, or down, after trouncing the Cardinals.

STOCK UP

Alton Robinson

Robinson continued his dominant junior season with a two-sack performance against Louisville on Friday. Robinson also recovered a fumble in the win.

UofL right tackle Lukayus McNeil proved to be no match, and even when Robinson didn’t get home to a Louisville quarterback, he consistently collapsed the pocket and forced UofL quarterbacks off their spots.

After UofL quarterback Jawon Pass fumbled a read option exchange with a running back, Robinson fell on the ball. He got up, palmed the ball in his right hand and swung his arms wildly, high stepping and celebrating the turnover.

Robinson is currently tied for seventh in the country with nine sacks on the season.

Moe Neal

Neal took his first touch of the game 67 yards up the middle for a touchdown. He took another 68 yards and inside the Louisville 10.

After eight carries, Neal had 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Friday’s performance marked a bit of a return to the limelight for Neal, who has existed on the fringes of Syracuse’s offense since a fumble against North Carolina.

But following an explosive performance against Louisville, Neal has reasserted himself into SU’s backfield rotation.

Ryan Guthrie

Guthrie’s three-game tear became four on Friday as the senior led the Orange with nine tackles, including 2.5 for loss.

From his middle linebacker position, Guthrie played instinctively, seeking out the football successfully on most plays. As the game wore on and the beatdown grew, Guthrie was in the backfield more and more.

On the season, Guthrie has 77 tackles, including 11.5 for loss and two sacks.

STOCK DOWN

 Passing game

Syracuse’s passing game didn’t need to be sharp against Louisville — the Orange rushed to the tune of 326 yards and five touchdowns — but the passing attack that was so dominant against North Carolina State has been largely absent since.

Wake Forest sold out entirely to stop the pass a week ago, so SU just ran its way to victory. Eric Dungey was OK against the Demon Deacons, and he was again OK on Friday against the Cardinals. He finished 14-for-27 for 192 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The struggles against Louisville had no clear cause. But whatever is wrong with Syracuse’s passing game needs to get ironed out if the Orange are to have a chance against the Irish.

Scoop Bradshaw

The usual starter at cornerback opposite Christopher Fredrick, Bradshaw started Friday’s game on the bench, as Dino Babers opted to start freshman Trill Williams.

Switching out Bradshaw and Williams comes after two weeks of Bradshaw struggling — first against Kelvin Harmon and North Carolina State and then against Scottie Washington and Wake Forest.

Bradshaw did end up playing some on Friday but ultimately left the game with an apparent left wrist injury. After leaving the field for the locker room, Bradshaw came back out with a sling on his left arm.

Babers offered no update on the junior cornerback after the game and Bradshaw’s outlook remains unclear.

Published on November 11, 2018 at 11:48 pm

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham