Was it just a couple of weeks ago that the University of Louisville football team was considered a serious contender for the 2016 college football playoffs? Reality took a while to catch up, shattering any and all illusions or disillusions.
Kirk Herbstreit, of ESPN, had UofL listed third in his rankings back then, saying on air that he believed the Cardinals were capable of beating top-ranked Alabama. There were lots of people who agreed with him, including those who made Louisville third in the Associated Press poll.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson, like his University of Louisville football team, is looking all too fallible these days. Either he’s not as good as was once considered or most teams have figured out how to slow him down considerably.
Two weeks ago, Jackson was considered a virtual shew-in for Heisman Trophy honors, the “lock of all locks,” considered by Las Vegas to be a 1-50 favorite for college football’s most coveted award. He was at that point considered all but invincible.
The outlook changed dramatically when Louisville fell victim to Houston in a devastating 36-10 loss, exposing all of UofL’s weaknesses, knocking the Cardinals out of any serious discussion about the nation’s best football teams this season.
Jackson a mere shadow of his national perception in the loss, managing to make only 20 of 43 passes while rushing for only 33 yards. His team would register only one touchdown while Jackson was getting sacked 11 times.
Just when one couldn’t imagine things getting any worse, things did get worse on Saturday. Louisville was knocked off by arch-rival Kentucky 41-38 before a crowd of 54,075 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
When he wasn’t scorching UK’s defense, Jackson was keeping the Wildcats in the game. He would have three costly interceptions and would cough up the ball in the final minute that would lead to the winning field goal.
UofL’s slumping performance in recent weeks, along with Jackson’s problems, may have an impact on the Heisman race. The national sports media, being what it is, thrives on creating drama when none may actually exist.
The Heisman Trophy is generally associated with winners and national contenders, with an individual player usually receiving a lot of credit for his team’s success. Louisville is free fall now, no longer in contention, plummeting in the polls.
Jackson has not done himself any favors in the past two games, making many Heisman voters scratch their heads, looking for possible reasons to reconsider their votes.
It was only fitting that Lamar fumble the ball he is the one who got us where we were. He is still the best candidate for heisman he broke all kinds if records uf you want to blame someone blame the defense they played like crap.
Not blaming anyone, just making some observations. Problems on many fronts during the last two games, not pretty at all.
Louisville was outplayed, out coached and out hustled. There were a few individual players who played well, but the team as a whole acted like they didn’t want to be there. Not only could UL not defend against the long pass or the short yardage pass, it couldn’t contain UK’s running backs running to the sides or the quarterback running up the middle just like a week ago against Houston. Why not leave a defender stay in the middle to tackle a QB that takes off running? Ohio State does it. Lamar Jackson still hasn’t learned his lesson about how to carry a ball. He carries it like he’s carrying a loaf of bread home to Mama. If he throws an interception, he’s quick to blame himself, but not so if he fumbles.
So much natural ability, so much more he can do. Hopefully he catches on to a few things and creates a great future for himself. He obviously has much more to learn to catch up with his quickness.