Syracuse head coach Dino Babers held his weekly press conference on Monday ahead of Syracuse’s (1-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) game against South Florida (2-0) on Saturday in the Carrier Dome at 3:30 p.m.

SU is coming off a 62-28 loss to then-No. 13 Louisville on Friday.

Here are three things he said.

Injured DBs Antwan Cordy and Juwan Dowels are still getting their final checks

Babers was unsure of safety Antwan Cordy’s or cornerback Juwan Dowels’ condition. The safety and cornerback both left Friday’s loss to Louisville with injuries. Dowels appeared to hurt his left knee and Cordy appeared to hurt his left wrist/arm.

“They’re still getting their final checks so I don’t know exactly where they’re at,” Babers said. “… They could either be coming back soon or it could be a lot later.”

The two injuries hit a defensive back group that is already lacking in depth.

‘Most’ will be able to halt SU’s pace with injuries like Louisville

Four separate times — three times in the red zone — Louisville players fell to the ground with leg injuries and cramps, causing stoppages of play and halting SU’s no-huddle drives down the field.

Syracuse defensive lineman Steven Clark thought some of the injuries were fake and Babers said after the game that they were why the game took so long (3 hours, 55 minutes).

On Monday, Babers explained that referees will ‘always’ side with the players when it comes to potential injuries and that they’re ‘not wrong in doing that.’

“Most teams will be able to do that over and over and over again,” he added, referring to slowing down the Orange’s pace with injuries.

SU was dominant on special teams against Louisville

Babers was quick to point out that numerous mistakes were made by his offense and defense in the loss to Louisville. However, he thought SU won the special teams battle and that was a reason it was only a 14-point game heading into the fourth quarter.

“We did dominate the special teams part of it so completely,” Babers said.

SU punter Sterling Hofrichter had five of his 11 punts go more than 50 yards and landed three inside the 20. None of Louisville punter Mason King’s kicks traveled more than 50 yards.

The Orange averaged 17.2 return yards on kickoffs and 2 on punts. The Cardinals averaged 18.2 return yards on kickoffs and 4.3 on punts.

Published on September 12, 2016 at 12:39 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus