NCAA: Malik Cunningham’s 5 touchdowns lead Louisville to victory over Syracuse

Louisville routed Syracuse Orange 41-3 on Sunday to end the Cardinals’ two-game losing streak. Quarterback Malik Cunningham threw five first-half touchdowns to down the Syracuse side. 

The junior quarterback led the Cardinals (5-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) in scoring with a 6-yard run on their first possession before firing a series of touchdown passes.

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Cunningham’s first pass was a 33-yard touchdown to Tyler Harrell — one of two Cardinals currently wearing No. 8 — before a 6-yarder to Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, the first of two catches. Jordan Watkins caught a 41-yard pass in the end zone, and Huggins-Bruce caught another from 17 yards shortly before halftime.

Cunningham completed 13 of 18 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter.

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Meanwhile, Syracuse (5-5, 2-4) and its high-powered offensive duo of Sean Tucker, the nation’s second-leading rusher, and quarterback Garrett Shrader were shut down by Louisville’s defence. Tucker rushed for 95 yards on 19 runs, while Shrader threw for 46 yards after being sacked four times.

Syracuse was outgained 382-184 by Louisville.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Louisville retired their No. 8 jersey of 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson at halftime. 

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Syracuse’s defence failed to contain Cunningham and Louisville’s other talented players, while the offence was unable to move the ball effectively. The Orange went 3 of 14 on third-down attempts after failing on their first seven. The low point came in the third quarter, when Shrader fumbled a fourth-down snap at the Louisville 2.

The Cardinals scored on five of their first six possessions, and their defence dominated Syracuse the whole game.

Next up, Syracuse visits No. 21 North Carolina State on Saturday while Louisville visits Duke on Thursday in its ACC season finale.

With inputs from the Associated Press