Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

On Saturday, Syracuse won its eighth season opener in the past decade. But the 31-7 demolition of Louisville marked the Orange’s first Week 1 conference win since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, giving them a jump start on a difficult conference schedule.

Syracuse’s victory over the Cardinals also marked the team’s first-ever win against sixth-year quarterback Malik Cunningham. In the Orange’s fourth attempt to shut down the Cardinals’ dual-threat starter, they held him to below 200 passing yards for the first time while forcing three consecutive second-half turnovers.

Here are Syracuse’s three big defensive plays that held Louisville to just seven points over the weekend.

Williams’ timely pick

This looked to be one of Cunningham’s best deep connections of the game, and if completed, the score would’ve pulled Louisville within three points of the Orange, pending an extra point.

With Cunningham lined up deep in the pocket, he initially faked a handoff before circling to his left, giving himself plenty of time to seek out a receiver with no Syracuse player within five yards of him. Cunningham then sent it long for Dee Wiggins. At 6-foot-3, Wiggins holds a three-inch height advantage over Garrett Williams, the only defensive back in the area.

But even with Wiggins well ahead of Williams in the end zone, Williams had actually overestimated his speed while running into the end zone, and he began to slow down after starting to backpedal. It gave Williams the perfect window to finish off his sprint toward Wiggins, slide in front of him and clutch the ball first, intercepting a potential touchdown with under five minutes left in the third quarter.

With both of Syracuse’s safeties 15 yards away from the end zone, Williams was able to make a split-second transition to guard the open man, showcasing his individual speed along with the defensive flexibility the Orange showed on Saturday night.

McDonald comes up big

After Syracuse’s quick seven-play drive following Williams’ interception, Louisville has the ball at its own 20-yard line. The Cardinals made four plays that moved them forward just eight yards.

Now at the 28-yard line on 3rd-and-15, Cunningham once again looked deep. But this time, Louisville’s offensive line didn’t allow him much time to throw. Syracuse’s Chase Simmons beat his man and rushed toward Cunningham’s left, leaving him no choice but to throw the ball deep.

Cunningham’s throw was already well behind his intended receiver, Braden Smith, and into double coverage. Mikel Jones was on Smith’s right, and Derek McDonald was on his left. McDonald, in just his third collegiate appearance, intercepted the poorly timed throw at Louisville’s 43-yard line and ran the ball back 30 yards.

Even before the ball was snapped, McDonald backed up in order to get into his spot in the coverage. He forced Smith to widen up his route, limiting the gap for Cunningham to throw the ball over McDonald’s 6-foot-4 frame.

McDonald was one of 20 different Syracuse defenders to record a solo or assisted tackle against Louisville. And with linebacker Stefon Thompson now out for the season after leaving the game with an injury in the second quarter, McDonald’s interception showcases a new level of depth on an Orange’s defense that will now be tested even further heading into week 2.

Pile it on

At the start of the fourth quarter after Syracuse’s touchdown score, Cunningham looked to redeem himself for the third time on a deep pass. So on a 2nd-and-7 at his own 28-yard line, he lined up in the backfield.

Cunningham had to avoid incoming SU pressure by darting up the middle while his offensive line continued to backpedal for pass protection. This allowed Steve Linton — who comes in from Cunningham’s left — to shake off his man even before Cunningham darted up the middle. Linton read this run perfectly and cleanly tackled Cunningham, popping the ball loose with his left arm in the process.

And as Linton finishes off the tackle, he maneuvered his body between Cunningham and a Cardinals lineman on the ground to secure the loose ball.

Linton’s sack was the second of three total on the night against Cunningham for a total of 13 yards. It shows a glimpse of head coach Dino Babers’ “different approach” to handling Cunningham after the sixth-year quarterback had dominated Syracuse for the past three seasons.

Published on September 5, 2022 at 8:04 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu