Louisville improved to 7-4 and finished a shocking 5-3 in conference play with a 56-34 win over Syracuse Saturday evening. Before a crowd literally and metaphorically dampened by cold temperatures and steady rain, the Louisville offense remained hot. The big play, but through the air and on the ground, remained a staple of the Louisville offense and the defense came up with enough stops to allow Louisville to put the game away.

Tutu Atwell remains unstoppable. With his performance tonight, Atwell gave Louisville its first combination 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in the same season since 1999. Atwell finished the game with 152 yards on 5 receptions including a back-breaking 90-yard touchdown reception. For the most part, Atwell did his damage through the air against Syracuse's best cover man in Andre Cisco. Regardless of opponent, any over-aggression against the run or a single misstep by a safety was repeatedly punished by Atwell. Tonight was no exception.

Remember the quarterback debate? It might be hard to believe, but, there was once a time that we debated who should be the Louisville quarterback. In fact, it would be safe to say that each of the three scholarship quarterbacks have had the majority of the fans in their respective corners at one time or another in 2019. With one game remaining, I'm prepared to call the race for Micale Cunningham. If he had enough attempts on the season (you must have 15 attempts for every game in which you appear to qualify), Cunningham would be one of the top 5 rated passers in college football. Against the Orange, Cunningham was his usual self completing 11 of 20 passes for 238 yards and 5 touchdowns. On the ground, he added 60 yards and a touchdown on just 8 rushing attempts.

Javian Hawkins adds to his historic season. Hawkins finished the game averaging an eye-popping 10.1 yards per carry with 233 yards on 23 carries. In the second half, Hawkins punished the tired Syracuse defense with repeated runs that were extended by beating the initial tackler or breaking the initial tackle(s). Hawkins became the first freshman back in Louisville football history to record six 100+-yard rushing games in one season.

Amazing to think that the Louisville team that finished 0-8 in conference play last season has been able to muster enough from both sides of the ball to not only make a bowl but to finish with a winning record in the ACC and to finish 2nd in the ACC Atlantic Division in year one. Satterfield will need to continue to exploit his current weapons and recruit new ones on offense while completely and totally rebuilding the defensive side of the ball.