Late Hits: Jackson, Louisville the center of the college football universe
Louisville is making this look easy, way too easy.
After Saturday’s 63-20 demolition of Florida State, the Cardinals are the center of the college football universe.
With games remaining against Clemson and Houston, Louisville will have as much to say about who plays — and potentially wins — the national title as any team in the country (Yes, hi, Alabama).
That’s why it’s nearly impossible to believe where the Louisville program was 12 months ago.
After a three-point home loss to Clemson, the Cardinals were winless after three games last Sept. 18. The Cards, in Bobby Petrino’s second go-round as coach, had already dropped from 12-1 in Charlie Strong’s last season in 2013 to 9-4 in Petrino’s first season.
They lost an incredible 10 players in the NFL draft between Petrino’s first and second seasons and then started the 2015 season with a 31-24 loss to Auburn, a 34-31 home loss to Houston and a 20-17 home loss to Clemson.
Tough games, close calls but zero wins.
“We're just not very good right now on offense,” Petrino said after his team had 19 rushing yards in the Clemson loss.
The next week, Petrino settled on true freshman Lamar Jackson at quarterback and he ran for 184 yards in a 45-3 rout of Samford.
But the “Legend of Lamar” wasn’t cemented until the following week with a 68-yard touchdown run at N.C. State. That run broke a scoreless tie and was ultimately the difference in a 20-13 Louisville win.
That game was the beginning of the end for N.C. State, which had started 4-0. It was the beginning of a meteoric rise for Jackson.
N.C. State fans use an unprintable hashtag on Twitter to describe this phenomenon. Their friends in northern Kentucky should start using “#LouisvilleLuck” to describe their fortune.
Not even a particularly ugly basketball scandal, centered on using prostitutes to woo recruits, can sully Louisville’s lucky star.
A year after rushing for 19 yards against Clemson, the Cardinals had an unfathomable 314 against FSU. They scored more points against the Seminoles on Saturday than any team had before. Ever.
Jackson ran for 146 yards and four touchdowns against the Noles’ defense littered with four- and five-star recruits. He also threw for 216 yards and a score. Through three games, Jackson has accounted for 18 touchdowns. Six touchdowns a game means he’s on pace to account for 72 touchdowns … in the regular season.
You can argue “it has only been three games,” but there has never been a player quite like Jackson in college football history.
That doesn’t mean he’s better than the college versions of Cam Newton, Vince Young, Michael Vick or Robert Griffin III, just that he’s a unique talent.
Not to short-change Louisville’s defense or Petrino’s acumen, but for the Cards, Jackson has made all the difference in the world. Just look where they were a year ago before a trip to Raleigh.
Joe Giglio: 919-829-8938, @jwgiglio
Who’s trending
A weekly review of who’s trending up and down across college football:
Miami (UP): It has been so long, Miami had forgotten what good coaching can do for a team. Mark Richt had the Canes prepared for a raucous setting at Appalachian State, and the Canes were dominant from the first play, an 80-yard touchdown run, to the last in a 45-10 win.
Big Ten (UP): Ohio State canceled Christmas in the state of Oklahoma, Nebraska took advantage of Oregon’s hubris and Michigan State sent Notre Dame spiraling into a mid-tier ACC bowl.
You can excuse Iowa’s home loss to North Dakota State after a bonanza like that.
Big 12 (DOWN): Can it add Houston now? After Oklahoma’s lopsided home loss to Ohio State and Texas’ clunker at Cal, the Big 12 is on the verge of getting shut out of the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years. The Cougars, a candidate for expansion over in the American Athletic Conference, have a better shot than any current Big 12 team to make the CFP.
Oregon (DOWN): Mark “Not Chip Kelly” Helfrich needs a full-time 2-point coach. The Ducks went for 2 five times, and were successful only once, in Saturday’s 35-32 loss at Nebraska. Five touchdowns plus five PATs equals 35. Oregon left points on the field and lost an important game because of it.
This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Late Hits: Jackson, Louisville the center of the college football universe."