The Big East matchup between Louisville and Syracuse on Saturday is no ordinary contest for the Cardinals.
The team is ranked ninth in the BCS standings and are the favorite to win the Big East conference. Any outside chance at the national title will be on the line on Saturday as Louisville visits the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome.
Louisville have been one of the biggest surprises in the nation this season, joining Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame and Kansas State as the only undefeated teams left in college football.
Teddy Bridgewater is having an excellent season for the Cardinals, passing for 2,434 yards and 18 touchdowns. According to the Associated Press, a BCS berth would be Louisville's "first major bowl game since the 2006 squad went 12-1 and beat Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl."
"You can't predict games like these," Bridgewater said. "It just comes, and we're thankful to have this type of success."
Two weeks ago the team survived a 34-31 overtime thriller against Cincinnati to improve to 8-0 and easily defeated Temple 45-17 last Saturday. The sophomore quarterback passed for 324 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in the game.
"To see the game Teddy had with five touchdowns ... What is unbelievable about Teddy is that he is just able to find open receivers," coach Charlie Strong said.
One of Louisville's biggest weaknesses this season has been defending the run. According to the Associated Press, "Louisville allowed a season-worst 255 rushing yards last week" against Temple.
"A lot of times people look at (the Orange) and think they throw the ball a lot, but the reason why they had to throw the ball is because they were coming from behind," Strong said. "But, they want to establish the run and that is to the philosophy of (coach Doug Marrone)."
Louisville has two more games left following the matchup with Syracuse, including a road game at Rutgers to finish the season.
"This is a big game this week against Syracuse," Strong said. "It is a road game, and anytime we go on the road, we know we have to pack our defense, our special teams, and our discipline. What we cannot do is lose our focus and we have to continue to execute and continue to get better."
Syracuse's Ryan Nassib has been just as good as Bridgewater--maybe even better. He has thrown for 2,773 yards and 18 touchdowns to lead one of the best passing attacks in the nation.
"We know that they are a good team," Syracuse defensive back Ri'Shard Anderson said. "We know that they have good coaches. They don't want to get knocked off but it's a great opportunity for us to knock off a team where we don't have that opportunity all of the time."
According to the Associated Press, "Bridgewater threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns while Nassib finished with 162 and a score in Louisville's 27-10 victory in last season's meeting -- the Cardinals' third straight win in the series."
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