Louisville @ Syracuse preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) Syracuse 10, Louisville 27

Teddy Bridgewater and No. 10 Louisville have cruised through the Big East but have yet to wrap up first place and the automatic BCS bowl bid that goes with it. The Cardinals need to be aware of the dreaded “trap game” over the next two weeks before a showdown with Rutgers on the final weekend of the regular season. The team looking to spoil Louisville’s perfect season this week will be Syracuse, which welcomes the Cardinals into the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon. The Orange need only look back to last season to believe they can knock off a top opponent and will be playing their final home game on Saturday while trying to keep their bowl hopes alive. Syracuse shocked No. 11 West Virginia last season and has won its last three at home. The Orange will take aim at Louisville’s suspect rushing defense with junior Jerome Smith, who has gone over 100 yards on the ground in each of the last three contests.

TV: 12 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Louisville -3.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (9-0, 4-0 Big East): The Cardinals are up to No. 9 in the BCS standings and will be looking for their first 10-win season since the glory days of Bobby Petrino in 2006, when they last made a BCS Bowl. Charlie Strong has taken Louisville to a bowl game in each of his first two seasons but is breaking through in his third behind Bridgewater, who piled up five touchdowns last week in a rout of Temple. The sophomore has thrown 18 touchdown passes and four interceptions and ranks in the top 10 in both quarterback rating and completion percentage. The 45-17 victory over the Owls snapped a string of close games for the Cardinals, including an overtime win at home over Cincinnati and a 27-25 home win over South Florida. The Louisville defense has not done Bridgewater many favors, surrendering an average of 148.0 yards on the ground and more than 22 points per game.

ABOUT SYRACUSE (4-5, 3-2): After getting to .500 for the first time this season with a tight win at South Florida, the Orange fell at Cincinnati last week due to a slew of mistakes that have plagued the team all season. Syracuse committed 12 penalties and was terrible on special teams, missing two field goals and fumbling a kickoff. Quarterback Ryan Nassib has seven touchdowns and no interceptions in the past three games but was let down by drops in the loss to the Bearcats. Taking a lot of the pressure off Nassib has been Smith, who has averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry in each of the last seven games. Syracuse leads the Big East in total yards but is only fourth in scoring due to turnovers.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Nassib needs 13 completions to pass former Rutgers QB Ryan Hart (735) for the Big East record.

2. Louisville has taken three straight in the series, including a 28-20 victory at the Carrier Dome in 2010.

3. The Cardinals have won six straight on the road dating to last season.

PREDICTION: Louisville 38, Syracuse 27