Syracuse saw the film and knew the athleticism was insurmountable.

It saw the big-playmaking abilities and concluded stopping it was near impossible.

So when the Syracuse prepared for stopping Louisville wide receivers Mario Urrutia and Harry Douglas last week in practice, the SU secondary knew it was inevitable for the two receivers, who combined for 51 catches for 920 yards and five touchdowns coming into Saturday, to be the main focus of the offense.

Despite its strategy, the Orange surprisingly limited the two star receivers from contributing much to the offense. Douglas had only six catches for 72 yards while Urrutia caught five balls for 48 yards. But Louisville found other ways to score in SU’s 28-13 loss to the Cardinals.

Kolby Smith’s 165 yards made the difference as he rushed for two touchdowns, including a 31-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that sealed the Cardinals’ fate.

‘Coming into the game we were trying to eliminate the big plays and keep everything to a minimum,’ senior cornerback Tanard Jackson said. ‘We knew we were going to get some plays out. We just had to keep it to a minimum. I think we did a good job of it. But we weren’t just consistent enough.’

With the exception of Urrutia’s 9-yard catch on the first play of the game, the two wide receivers were kept mostly out of action. Douglas’s first reception came on a 10-yard catch with less than nine minutes in the second quarter. Throughout the game, Syracuse gave them 10 yards of space on the line of scrimmage to force quicker but shorter passes.

Syracuse safety Joe Fields said that strategy served as a tradeoff. It would be better to let the passing game develop a few passing plays as long as there didn’t throw any deep balls. In the first half, the SU secondary held Louisville to 90 yards.

That number could have been even lower if it wasn’t for Douglas’s 27-yard catch in the final play of the second half. SU kept its distance to avoid a Hail Mary pass.

Syracuse showed much more poise at stopping the run. Granted, without Michael Bush, Louisville lacks the running game that Pittsburgh and West Virginia possessed, but SU held Louisville’s running game to 53 yards.

Syracuse limited Louisville to seven points, its lowest scoring total in any half this season, nearly intercepted two passes, sacked quarterback Brian Brohm twice and forced a fumble. This all happened against a team that normally averages 40.5 points and 532.7 yards of offense.

But when the second half rolled around, the picture looked different. Louisville gained 17 first downs – 10 more than it did in the first half – and accumulated 170 rushing yards.

‘I think it’s all about playing 60 minutes,’ Fields said. ‘The first 30 minutes we were right there. Not to say we weren’t going out with the same intensity, but we have to sustain it and do our assignments for 60 minutes.’

Robinson thought Louisville’s lead in the second half allowed them to be more flexible with their offense. That left Syracuse at a more uncomfortable position in the second half because it couldn’t play comfortably.

‘The strength of their football team was that the balance of their offense can maintain,’ Robinson said. ‘With the game the way it stayed, it let them stay more in balance. I think it took its toll later in the game but I liked our performance by the defense.’

It especially took its toll late in the game when SU tried to fight back and force overtime. With Louisville at the 7-yard line, Syracuse pressed to create a turnover to put the offense in good field positioning.

But it allowed Smith to lead a Louisville march down the field on nine plays. The drive capped when he rushed up the middle for 31 yards, untouched, for a touchdown that sealed the Louisville victory.

‘We had the chance to give our offense another opportunity. We weren’t able to do that,’ Jackson said. ‘That’s what we’ve got to do as a defense. When our offense turns over the ball, we try to get the ball right back to give them another opportunity and score points.’

Published on October 22, 2006 at 12:00 pm