LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Shamarko Thomas knifed into the backfield as Syracuse dialed up one last desperation blitz. It was cover zero, and SU sent all-out pressure at Louisville in a last-ditch effort to spark an improbable comeback from 14 points down in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals called an option play to the left, and running back Victor Anderson saw daylight in front of him as he began to turn the corner. Thomas raced after him — the Syracuse strong safety sprawled out, swiping his right hand at any part of Anderson’s leg he could lay a finger on.

The balance of the game was on Thomas’ shoulders, with a wall of blocking in place to escort Anderson down the left sideline to seal victory for Louisville. It was a tackle — paradoxically — that the SU offense needed to have. And Thomas knew it. In a game where the Orange offense proved inept at putting points on the board, it certainly couldn’t muster a comeback from any larger deficit.

‘That’s definitely a must-tackle, man,’ Thomas said. ‘I just — that just — it hurt man. I wanted to make a play for my team.’

Thomas whiffed and Anderson raced 61 yards for the game-clinching touchdown in a 27-10 Louisville victory Saturday in front of 44,817 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. In a game in which the Syracuse (5-3, 1-2 Big East) offense proved incapable of moving the ball consistently — let alone scoring — Thomas’ missed tackle eliminated any possibility of a comeback. Louisville’s (4-4, 2-1) defense stifled an SU unit that clicked on all cylinders a week ago against West Virginia, yielding only 246 yards and one meaningless touchdown in the game’s closing moments.

‘Against West Virginia, they had no negative yards plays, whether it was running the ball or sacks,’ Louisville head coach Charlie Strong said. ‘We were able to get the sacks, throw for losses and our defense just played excellent today.’

The relentless pressure from the Cardinals was expected, and Syracuse offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said the Louisville unit did nothing different Saturday than it did in last year’s victory over the Orange.

In an effort to combat the blitzes from the 15th-ranked defense in the country, the Orange took shots downfield. Louisville’s pressure left one-on-one matchups for SU’s playmakers on the outside, but quarterback Ryan Nassib and his receivers couldn’t connect all game long.

Nassib overthrew Van Chew on a deep route down the right sideline when the SU receiver beat coverage early in the second quarter. Later in the quarter, Nassib zipped a pass well out in front of a wide-open Jarrod West in the end zone, and Syracuse settled for a field goal.

‘You can go back, you can look at, we had some guys open early,’ Orange head coach Doug Marrone said. ‘When I say open, I’m talking about touchdown open.’

Those missed chances resulted in zero pass plays of more than 20 yards. Nassib’s longest completion came on SU’s last offensive play of the game — a 20-yard touchdown to

Jarrod West with 1:31 remaining and Louisville leading by 24 points.

‘We made plays last week, and we didn’t make plays this week,’ Nassib said. ‘Me particularly. I definitely wasn’t accurate enough this week, didn’t make enough throws where guys were open. And those missed throws I made really cost us the game.’

Nassib appeared uncomfortable against the relentless Louisville defense that tallied 14 tackles for loss Saturday. That included four sacks of Nassib and countless other hits on the quarterback.

Though the plan was to hit big plays downfield early on each series, Nassib connected on only 8-of-14 passes on first down Saturday with a mediocre 5.25 yards per completion average. The result was multiple third-and-long situations that SU failed to convert after Nassib dumped the ball off to safety-valve running backs or tight ends.

Three of the four Louisville sacks came on third down to end Syracuse drives.

‘If Nassib is feeling uncomfortable, that’s on us,’ SU offensive lineman Justin Pugh said. ‘That’s on the whole offense. Offensive line has got to protect better, running backs have to pick up guys, wide receivers have to get open quicker. We can’t just have him back there and be a sitting duck.’

With Louisville leading by 14 early in the fourth quarter, the Syracuse offensive linemen trudged off the field following a disappointing six-play, 11-yard drive. Linebacker Dyshawn Davis attempted to invigorate his deflated teammates with high fives and words of encouragement, jumping around as the linemen sulked on the bench.

But the next time SU took the field it was more of the same. It moved the ball 36 yards into Louisville territory before Nassib overthrew a wide-open David Stevens on fourth-and-6. Stevens was behind the Cardinals defense for what should have been an easy touchdown.

Saturday’s confused and disoriented offense was a far cry from the near-perfect performance against West Virginia last week, leaving SU disheartened with its bipolarity.

Said Nassib: ‘We play so well a week prior, and then we come out and lay an egg.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on October 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13