LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A week ago, Dino Babers asked a room full of reporters when they had last seen a quarterback perform as well as Wake Forest’s John Wolford had in his 500-yard game against Syracuse. Then Babers realized the answer was obvious and supplied it himself.

“Well, it’s probably the guy we’re about to play this week, isn’t it?” he said.

SU’s second-year head coach was alluding to Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, the reigning Heisman winner who on Saturday at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium led the UofL (7-4, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) in a rainy, 56-10 dissection of Syracuse (4-7, 2-5) a year after posting an SU opponent record of 610 total yards in the Carrier Dome. Jackson’s 381 total yards this time around reminded the country why Louisville ranked No. 16 before the season began. His dominance is the latest reason why, for the fourth straight season, it’s highly unlikely Syracuse will play in a bowl game.

“Disappointed we couldn’t stop more things on defense,” Babers said. “Lamar is a first-round draft pick, and someone just asked me if he’s better than (former Baylor quarterback and 2011 Heisman winner Robert Griffin III). I want to say no, but God dang, he’s special.”

While Jackson’s skills acted as the finishing blow to SU’s bowl hopes, Syracuse put itself in this position. Even the most optimistic preseason forecasts likely pegged the Louisville game as a loss. But entering the matchup against Louisville with four wins meant there was no more room to lose. SU needed a win to make next week’s game matter. Instead of having a chance to extend its seniors’ careers by earning a bowl berth, SU will send off its eldest players with yet another season-finale that means essentially nothing, and making this senior class the first to leave without playing in a bowl game since 2009.

“Guys are just hurting, myself included,” senior linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “I think we will feel it all night.”

Flashbacks to Louisville’s 62-28 drubbing of SU in the Carrier Dome last season rushed back immediately after the opening kickoff. In 36 seconds, Louisville ran two plays to go 80 yards for a touchdown. In response, SU senior quarterback Zack Mahoney threw an interception on Syracuse’s first offensive possession. Orange quarterbacks will now finish the season having tossed a pick on their first drive of every road game this year.

Later, Jackson exited the pocket and took another chunk of SU’s hope with him. He dusted an overcommitted Evan Foster and stiff-armed a hopeless Devin M. Butler to glide into the endzone for a 43-yard score and a 14-3 lead.

“Explosive plays kill you,” redshirt junior safety Rodney Williams said.

The early explosions served as a notice, albeit an unnecessary one, that SU ought to respect Jackson when he runs in space. So when three Orange defenders corralled him in a similar spot on the field during the next Cardinals possession, Jackson pitched to UofL running back Reggie Bonnafon. He finished the run 33 yards later and gave Louisville a 14-3 lead. All week long, SU knew it would have to defend the same option plays it couldn’t stop last week. When the Orange didn’t, it only got uglier.

A first-half weather delay made Syracuse sit on a 21-3 deficit for 43 minutes in the locker room. Redshirt Freshman Rex Culpepper replaced a benched Mahoney at quarterback. The change didn’t help. SU finished the game with 335 yards of total offense, but little to show for it. Jackson himself had more production.

The offensive struggles — considering with usual starter Eric Dungey out for the second straight game with an injury — didn’t sting as much as the damage Jackson inflicted.

“You can only contain him, you can’t really stop him,” Williams said. “… Even if you have the perfect call, him boxed in a one-on-one tackle, it’s still going to be tough to make that play. You can’t really practice for someone like that.”

In the second quarter, Jackson slung a deep ball over the middle to a streaking Jay Smith. Smith had beaten Orange cornerback Juwan Dowels and had only SU safety Rodney Williams to beat. Williams was in decent position, right underneath Smith like he wanted to be, but not a good enough spot to do anything about the incoming ball. As soon as he turned around, Williams said, he knew the pass was perfect. Smith plucked it and cruised for a 72-yard knockout.

On Louisville’s next possession, Jackson one-upped his passing precision and dropped a dime of a score into the hands of Bonnafon, the running back, on a wheel route. Syracuse’s Brandon Berry, a defensive end, attempted to cover Bonnafon on the play — the sign of a defense both depleted and defeated.

After halftime, the list of Jackson highlights got too long. He juked SU senior linebacker Jonathan Thomas on a touchdown run that resembled his infamous hurdle from last year. The lead eventually grew so large that Jackson was rewarded with the warmth of a sideline poncho for the remainder of the game.

It kept raining. The seats that went largely unfilled to start the game became increasingly empty. Syracuse watched as backups battled backups. A garbage-time Orange touchdown drew little reaction.

That is the kind of lifeless condition one would expect when a team had its goal of earning a bowl invitation officially stamped as a failure. SU had its best start through seven games since 2011 and almost certainly won’t have a postseason game to show for it.

“We wanted to compete for an ACC championship,” Williams said. “We had the opportunity and we let it slip away.”

Tonight, credit Jackson. But blame Syracuse for letting his reckoning have the power to kill its season.

Published on November 18, 2017 at 8:07 pm

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