Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Syracuse

Take a look at how the Cardinals stack up against the Orange for their Saturday matchup, and who the statistical models favor:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville (0-0, 0-0 ACC) is set to face Syracuse (0-0, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 8:00 p.m. EST at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Orange:

- Rankings:

	Syracuse	Louisville
AP/USA Today	NR/NR	NR/RV
SOS	N/A	N/A
SP+	64th	39th
FPI	61st	35th
Sagarin	85th	47th

- Offensive Statistics (2021):

	Syracuse	Louisville
Total Offense	86th (371.7)	21st (446.2)
Scoring Offense	91st (24.9)	41st (31.6)
Passing Yards	121st (158.2)	65th (236.4)
Yards Per Completion	72nd (12.09)	18th (13.90)
Rushing Yards	16th (213.5)	22nd (209.8)
First Downs Gained	98th (235)	55th (275)
3rd Down Con. %	118th (32.5%)	63rd (40.0%)
4th Down Con. %	69th (50.0%)	66th (51.9%)
Red Zone Con. %	109th (76.5%)	39th (86.7%)
Turnovers Lost	21st (13)	21st (13)
Interceptions Thrown	15th (6)	15th (6)
Fumbles Lost	58th (7)	58th (7)
Tackles For Loss Allowed	89th (6.25)	31st (4.77)
Sacks Allowed	107th (2.83)	25th (1.54)
Avg. Time of Possession	49th (30:28)	51st (30:26)

Key: National Rank out of 130 FBS Teams (Value)

- Defensive Statistics (2021):

	Syracuse	Louisville
Total Defense	19th (330.3)	84th (403.3)
Scoring Defense	66th (26.3)	77th (27.3)
Passing Yards Allowed	26th (204.2)	95th (245.6)
Rushing Yards Allowed	26th (126.1)	76th (157.7)
3rd Down Defensive %	46th (37.2%)	53rd (37.6%)
4th Down Defensive %	76th (52.6%)	71st (52.2%)
First Downs Allowed	16th (223)	115th (292)
Red Zone Defensive %	96th (87.0%)	110th (89.8%)
Turnovers Gained	129th (6)	82nd (15)
Interceptions Caught	122nd (4)	60th (10)
Fumbles Recovered	125th (2)	87th (5)
Sacks Per Game	16th (3.08)	45th (2.54)
TFL Per Game	28th (6.8)	47th (6.2)

Key: National Rank out of 130 FBS Teams (Value)

- Special Teams Statistics (2021):

	Syracuse	Louisville
Net Punting	128th (33.36)	73rd (38.80)
Avg. Kickoff Return	62nd (20.89)	30th (23.61)
Avg. Kickoff Return Def.	62nd (20.91)	60th (20.81)
Avg. Punt Return	33rd (10.48)	23rd (11.21)
Avg. Punt Return Def.	77th (8.56)	38th (5.58)
Field Goal Attempts	9-14	14-21
PAT	36-38	51-52

Key: National Rank out of 130 FBS Teams (Value)

- FPI Prediction: Per ESPN's Football Power Index, the Cardinals have a 58.2 percent chance to win against the Orange. Louisville has an FPI of 7.2 (35th overall), whereas Syracuse has a rating of 1.4 (61st overall).

- SP+ Prediction:

Per Bill Connelly's SP+ model, the Cardinals have a 61.57 percent chance to take down the Orange. Louisville has an SP+ rating of 9.3 (39th overall), whereas Syracuse has a rating of 1.8 (64th overall).

Weekly Expected Wins Mark:

• Preseason: 6.57

- Personal Prediction: Louisville 35, Syracuse 17.

(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter