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Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey (2) and the rest of the SU offense will look to ramp up tempo against No. 13 Louisville on Friday.

(Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. — On Monday, Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino wondered aloud whether Syracuse's uptempo offense operated within the rules during SU's 33-7 win over Colgate on Friday.

There were a few instances in which Orange center Jason Emerich snapped the ball before the chain crew was in place.

On Wednesday, Petrino said he spoke with an ACC official and that his inclinations were confirmed.

"The chains have to be set," Petrino said on the ACC coaches' teleconference. "You've got to let the chains get down before they can snap the ball again. There were a couple times in that game where they didn't get set. So we have talked to the conference office and that's part of the official's responsibility, is to make sure the chains get set before the ball is snapped."

SU head coach Dino Babers believes otherwise.

"I was always under the impression that the (down) box was the most important thing," Babers said. "If the box was set than the chains could come later. But I'm sure the officials will straighten it out and tell us how they do it."

Either way, Petrino and No. 13 Louisville (1-0) are doing everything they can to prepare for the Syracuse (1-0) hurry-up spread. In addition to publicly reminding the officials of pre-snap regulations, Petrino is alternating in two offensive units against the first-team defense in practice to simulate SU's tempo. The goal is to snap the ball every 16 seconds.

"We're (also) going really fast when we do what we call our crossover drills, when we have our No. 2 offense going against our No. 1 defense to simulate Syracuse," Petrino said. "While we're doing that, we've got noise going on. It's hectic when you've got practice like that, but it really pays off for gametime."



Babers said he's never had a serious issue in the past regarding one of his teams trying to go too fast. There was one instance during the Colgate game in which SU sophomore quarterback Eric Dungey was told by an official that he had to wait to snap the ball.

Babers repeatedly downplayed the importance of chain-crew speed during the teleconference.

"I'm not concerned about the chains being set," Babers said. "I'm concerned with all the defensive speed they have, offensive speed they have, and really good coaching and physical players. I don't think the game's going to be decided within the one or two seconds the chains are being set."

While a second here or there may not ultimately make a difference, reducing recovery time is key in creating a fatigued defense.

SU junior wide receiver Erv Philips noticed the Colgate defensive backs wear down over the course of the game. Their scheme became more predictable as they had to retreat into base coverages.

"There comes a point where (Dungey's) throwing the ball so fast, throwing it to the sideline that the quick plays on the sideline become easier to block," Philips said. "They're tired. They don't want to run to the ball, things like that."

For tempo teams across the country, employing a fast chain gang seems to be beneficial (though Babers believes the conversation to be overblown). When asked about that, Petrino said tongue-in-cheek that he should consider hiring a slower crew for the Cardinals' home games.

Said Petrino: "We might need to look into it when we play fast teams at home, hire some guys who don't run very fast to slow them down. I've never thought about that. That's a good idea for us. The other thing we might need to do is get some oxygen down there and make sure we have a defibrillator in case they can't keep up when they're running down the field."

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