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The Louisville Cardinals take on the Syracuse Orange. Check out our college football odds series for our Louisville Syracuse prediction and pick.
The Louisville Cardinals face a very important season in 2022. Head coach Scott Satterfield came to Louisville from Appalachian State, where he built the Mountaineers into one of the best Group of Five programs in the country. Louisville seemed to have made a great move — and scored a big prize — when it was able to land him in the coaching carousel four years ago. Satterfield produced a very good first season which only increased expectations among the fan base.
Then things got complicated. Louisville regressed in Year 2 under Satterfield, and Louisville fans watched in disbelief as Satterfield flirted with the South Carolina head coaching job before pulling back. It was shocking to see Satterfield act that way not necessarily because of any qualities he personally possessed, but because he had not done anything at Louisville which merited being hired at South Carolina. It was bizarre in the extreme. Last year Louisville made a bowl game but lost that bowl (to Air Force) and finished 6-7. It was an okay season, but nothing special. Satterfield did not come to Louisville to produce “okay” seasons. Louisville produced 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. One decade earlier, Louisville won its conference championship and scored an Orange Bowl victory. That is what Louisville fans want: being in the hunt for very prestigious achievements, not muddling along and going 6-6 in the regular season. Satterfield badly needs an eight- or nine-win season to quiet the critics, get the fans on his side, and generally move Louisville football in the right direction. Another 6-6 season will increase the heat on him in Bluegrass country.
Syracuse has shown amazing patience with Dino Babers. The main reason why Babers is still coaching the Orange is the pandemic, which had a terrible effect on a lot of college football programs. It limited practice time, player development, and the other processes football programs engage in on a year-round basis. The pandemic blunted the ability of Babers to restock his roster and revive the program. It has to be said that Babers' 10-win season in 2018 is the other reason he is still employed. Had he not produced that one special year, Syracuse probably would have parted with him by now, even with the pandemic's complications and unwelcome intervention into the Cuse football program. In 2022, though, there are no excuses left. It is time for Babers to get Syracuse back to a bowl game. Nothing less will be acceptable for a program which has a rich college football heritage dating back to the 1950s. Babers has to find a way to make significant improvements; otherwise, he will likely get a pink slip before the end of the year.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Louisville-Syracuse College Football odds.
College Football Odds: Louisville-Syracuse Odds
Louisville Cardinals: -5.5 (-106)
Syracuse Orange: +5.5 (-114)
Over: 57.5 (-108)
Under: 57.5 (-112)
Why Louisville Could Cover the Spread
The Cardinals are simply a lot better than Syracuse. They definitely have the far better quarterback, Micale Cunningham. He is 23 years old. He is extremely fast. He can make plays with his arm and his legs. He should be the best player on the field in this game, but beyond that, he is so experienced that in a Week 1 game, where a lot of other players might be unsteady or uncertain entering a new season, Cunningham should be rock-solid for the Louisville offense. Syracuse won't be able to keep up with him.
Why Syracuse Could Cover the Spread
Louisville under Scott Satterfield has been a portrait of underachievement and erratic, inconsistent evolution. If Louisville plays down to the Satterfield reality and the pattern of underperformance we have seen from the Cardinals the past few years, Syracuse — always dangerous on its home in the dome — can pounce and win this game, or at least make it very, very close and thereby cover the spread.
Final Louisville-Syracuse Prediction & Pick
Micale Cunningham will devastate the Syracuse defense and enable Louisville to win by a solid working margin.
Final Louisville-Syracuse Prediction & Pick: Louisville -5.5
