Ask Syracuse linebacker Rich Scanlon, and he’ll give you a straight answer.

‘I certainly don’t fear any type of offense.’

Question defensive end James Wyche, and you’ll get a similar response.

‘I’m not really scared of no running backs.’

Perhaps they should be.

When Louisville faces the Syracuse football team on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, it will bring an offense that gained 420 total yards against Kentucky two weeks ago. Two hundred and forty of those yards came on the ground, mostly by running backs Eric Shelton and Lionel Gates – U of L’s version of Walter Reyes and Damien Rhodes.

All the Cardinals’ firepower could frighten any defense. Judging by last week, Syracuse is no exception. North Carolina gained 505 total yards against SU. A week earlier, UNC barely gained half that in its 37-0 loss to Florida State.

Still, the Orangemen may have reason to be optimistic. Their young defense shut out the Tar Heels in the fourth quarter Saturday. So despite giving up 31 points in three quarters, it was SU’s defense that enabled the comeback.

‘The biggest jump of improvement is between the first and the second games,’ Scanlon said. ‘Everything that we did or didn’t do (against UNC) is correctable. They’re simple things.’

Stopping Louisville’s running back duo will be a daunting assignment for an Orangemen defense that allowed 186 yards rushing at UNC. Shelton rushed for 152 yards and Gates rushed for 80 against Kentucky. Even quarterback Stefan LeFors is a ground threat. He gained 19 yards on four carries in Louisville’s opening game.

LeFors can also light it up through the air. He threw for 180 yards and a touchdown in the 40-24 win over the Wildcats.

Last week, UNC quarterback Darian Durant torched Syracuse for 316 yards and four touchdowns. The Orangemen tried to contain Durant’s mobility by restraining their pass rush. The logic was to let him beat you with his arm rather than his quickness.

The plan backfired. Because of a nonexistent pass rush that recorded no sacks, Syracuse gave Durant ample time in the pocket to find open receivers. Durant completed 31 of 44 passes Saturday and still burned the SU defense with his legs, rushing for 68 yards.

‘When you’re rushing three, you’re not going to sack the quarterback,’ SU coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘We didn’t go into the game and say, ‘We’re going to sack this guy.’ Sometimes when you try to blitz a guy like this, that’s the worst thing that can happen.’

‘Durant was an incredibly athletic quarterback,’ Wyche said. ‘You had to keep your eyes on him. We’re going to go out with the same intensity because this quarterback is pretty mobile, too. It’s going to be the same experience as it was in the Carolina game.’

Perhaps, then, Syracuse should expect a repeat performance on defense. LeFors is not as gifted athletically as Durant, but he possesses much of the same tools – he has a decent arm and has the ability to run out of trouble.

This week, the Orangemen will try to contain LeFors without the help of two of their seniors. Linebacker Jameel Dumas and defensive end Josh Thomas will both miss the game because of injury. They’ll be replaced by Kelvin Smith and Julian Pollard, respectively.

Smith, a freshman, and Pollard, an inexperienced junior, were both prone to mental mistakes against UNC. Freshman Terrell Lemon also struggled at times in his first collegiate game, missing several tackles.

‘When the effort is not there is when you have to get on somebody,’ Scanlon said. ‘With the young guys, you can’t destroy their confidence.

‘They just needed a couple of quarters to settle down.’

Last week, the offense was SU’s saving grace. It will need another dominant performance against Louisville if the defense plays the way it did against UNC.

‘We weren’t satisfied,’ Wyche said, ‘But that was our first game, so we know we’re going to go out there and make mistakes. But everybody makes mistakes.’

Published on September 11, 2003 at 12:00 pm