For a chunk of the game Saturday night, Syracuse looked capable of ending its ACC losing streak. Then the Orange gave the game away.
Syracuse had a chance to force overtime in the final two minutes, but its comeback attempt fell short in a 34-26 loss to Louisville. The Orange fell to 2-4 overall and 0-4 in ACC play, extending their conference losing streak to 11 games.
Trailing by eight with 1:50 remaining and no timeouts, fourth-string quarterback Danny Lauter took over for Syracuse after Malachi Nelson left with an injury. Lauter moved the Orange across midfield, but the Orange came up short on fourth-and-1 with 45 seconds left, ending their comeback bid.
Nelson led Syracuse’s offense well enough to keep pace with Louisville for much of the night. But three second-half turnovers left the Orange with little margin for error and couldn’t finish drives when it mattered most.
Umari Hatcher did everything he could to give Syracuse some breathing room.
The sixth-year receiver caught 13 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown, setting career highs in both receptions and receiving yards. His yardage total ranks fifth in Syracuse single-game history.
Regardless of who was under center, Hatcher was confident he’d keep making plays.
“I will make those plays, no matter who’s in there,” Hatcher said. “If it’s Danny, one of y’all, I’m still gonna make sure I make that play.”
Running back Ahmad Miller added 123 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Syracuse opened with a 65-yard completion from Nelson to Hatcher, setting up a 26-yard field goal from freshman Shay Barker.
After defensive back Davien Kerr intercepted Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, Nelson found Hatcher again for a 41-yard touchdown to put the Orange ahead 10-0.
Louisville answered with an explosive first quarter of its own.
Kienholz broke free for an 82-yard touchdown run to give the Cardinals a 14-10 lead before the end of the period.
The scoring tradeoff continued, as Nelson connected with Calvin Russell III for a 24-yard touchdown, the receiver’s first career end zone trip, and Miller later ran in from 20 yards out to put Syracuse ahead 23-21.
Louisville took a 28-23 lead into halftime when tailback Isaac Brown turned a checkdown into a 46-yard touchdown with 28 seconds remaining.
The first half featured 669 combined yards, the most in an ACC game since 2022. The second half was a different story.
Both teams opened with three-and-outs before Syracuse drove to the Louisville 5-yard line. Nelson fumbled on a zone-read play, and the Cardinals recovered.
Kerr intercepted Kienholz on Louisville’s next possession, but Nelson threw an interception of his own two plays later, sending the ball over his intended target and into the hands of Louisville defensive back Kaleb Beasley.
The teams combined for three turnovers in roughly 2 1/2 minutes, with Syracuse responsible for two of them. The Orange had a chance to seize momentum but instead handed it right back.
“We just got to make better decisions, them as players, us as coaches. There’s better decisions on both ends, not just as a player, but as a caller, just everything that we’re doing,” Syracuse head coach Fran Brown said.
The Orange defense kept the game within reach, limiting Louisville to just 58 yards after halftime. Kerr finished with two interceptions, a sack and a pass breakup, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on the stops.
SU reached the Louisville 6 early in the fourth quarter but settled for a 24-yard Barker field goal, cutting the deficit to 28-26 with 12:45 remaining.
After the defense forced another punt, Syracuse was presented another opportunity to take the lead.
Instead, Nelson threw his second interception of the half, giving Louisville possession near midfield. The Cardinals needed five plays to reach the end zone, with running back Keyjuan Brown scoring on a 5-yard run to make it 34-26 with 7:34 left.
Syracuse drove down to the Louisville 19-yard line on its next possession but couldn’t overcome a holding penalty and consecutive sacks. The Orange turned the ball over on downs with just over three minutes remaining.
Syracuse got the ball back again with 1:50 remaining but couldn’t turn its final drive into a game-tying score.
The missed chances proved costly. Syracuse settled for field goals on two trips inside the Louisville 10, lost a fumble on another and couldn’t sustain its final drive when it needed a touchdown.
Nelson finished with 315 passing yards and two touchdowns, along with two interceptions and a lost fumble. His mistakes proved costly in a game where Syracuse’s offense had shown it could move the ball against Louisville.
“We’re a young football team,” coach Brown said. “I’m happy about the push at the end, the fight that they had, they wanted to compete.”
That fight was evident Saturday. So was the familiar ending.
Syracuse travels to face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Oct. 24, looking to turn a competitive performance into its first ACC win. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network.