The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Sam Hunter

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Jim McKenzie sat at the interview table on the verge of tears. The normally cheerful and outgoing center appeared devastated. Just 30 minutes prior, he had watched Louisville escape with a come-from-behind win over Syracuse in the last two minutes of a game SU seemed to have wrapped up. He couldn't stomach the result.

"It's a heartbreaker," McKenzie said. "They pulled it out at the end. It's unfortunate. It's a part of football. You got to play all four quarters, all 60 minutes."

In a devastating loss that eliminated SU from bowl contention, the Orange couldn't hold off Louisville in the final minutes of a 10-9 loss Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium before 33,223. Louisville's go-ahead touchdown with 1:24 left proved to be the winning score, after the Orange failed to convert the extra point following its lone touchdown.

"It hurts, that's all I can say really," running back Delone Carter said. "We had it, we had it in the bag, and it slipped away from us."

After struggling to find any offensive rhythm throughout the game, Syracuse (3-7, 0-5 Big East) stood one defensive stop away from victory with a 9-3 lead with just under four minutes to go. Louisville hadn't looked particularly impressive through 56 minutes, managing only 106 yards of total offense up to that point.

Botched punt coverage, though, put the defense in a difficult situation and ultimately doomed the Orange. Earlier in the game, Louisville's Trent Guy had a 94-yard punt return called back when the officials ruled him down by contact at the Cardinal 6-yard line.

This time, he took the punt 44 yards to Syracuse's 45-yard line, and Louisville was instantly on the verge of taking the lead.

"I feel like we have players on the field who have to make that play. It's part of their responsibility," SU head coach Doug Marrone said. "…It's just people not executing well."

With the clock dipping closer to zero, Louisville ran a post play for 6-foot-9 Josh Chichester. Syracuse defensive back Da'Mon Merkerson never had a chance. Chichester caught the ball from quarterback Adam Froman to tie the game, and one extra point later, Louisville had a 10-9 lead.

SU's missed opportunities, like Greg Paulus' first-half fumble at the Louisville 28-yard line and punter Rob Long's inability to field a snap from Max Leo on a PAT attempt, suddenly reared their ugly heads.

Continued...

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