Louisville has been here before, off to fast starts, only to come up short at the sight of Florida State and Clemson. There have been blown leads and failed last-second opportunities, crushing losses to the ACC’s elite, teams that have reached the playoff the last two years.
This season, optimism is back in the Commonwealth, the hope this can be the year the Cardinals topple one of those established powers, and play their way into the playoff conversation.
It starts and ends with one name: Lamar Jackson, the explosive dual-threat quarterback from the football hotbed of Florida.
Coming off a strong freshman season in which he threw for 12 touchdowns and ran for 11 in helping Louisville go 8-5 and defeat Texas A&M in the Motor City Bowl, the electric 6-foot-3 Jackson has captivated the country with two memorable performances, breaking a series of records in leading Louisville to blowouts victories over Charlotte and Syracuse this season.
He’s already scored 13 touchdowns, eight in the first half against Charlotte (he didn’t play after halftime) and five more against Syracuse on Friday. Jackson set a Louisville and ACC record against the Orange with 610 total yards of offense. He set a school record for the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 15, in 14 games, and he’s the second player in FBS history to record 400 passing yards and 150 rush yards in a game, joining Jordan Lynch (Northern Illinois) in 2012.
Jackson has looked more like Deshaun Watson, the Clemson quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist who led the Tigers to the national championship game last year, than Watson himself.
Jackson opted to attend Louisville over a series of traditional powers, schools like Florida State, Ohio State and Georgia, because he was so impressed with the way Teddy Bridgewater, a South Floridian like himself, developed at Louisville into a second-round draft pick. And he studied film of Bridgewater this offseason, hoping to work on his throwing mechanics and poise in the pocket that limited him as a freshman.
So far, Jackson’s completing 59.7 percent of his passes, up from 54.7 a year ago, and has only thrown one interception, after getting picked off eight times last season.
But before we truly anoint Jackson, he still has a lot of proving to do, starting Saturday against Florida State. Charlotte and Syracuse are bottom-feeders, programs Jackson should be able to carve up like he has. And as well as Louisville has looked, it did allow 28 points and 426 yards of offense to the Orange.
So far, two weeks, two transcendent performances, and plenty of reasons this year could be different for Louisville. Remember, Clemson couldn’t get over the hump before Watson came. Louisville is hoping Lamar Jackson can do the same for them.
Big 12 looking small early
Remember all that talk of the SEC’s poor showing after the opening weekend? Well, all the criticism was aimed at the wrong conference. While, yes, the SEC had its troubles, it bounced back Saturday, with Tennessee beating Virginia Tech and LSU rebounding from a loss to Wisconsin by shaking off a sluggish start against Jacksonville State, while the Big 12 already may be sending signs it won’t have a playoff-worthy team.
The conference has just three teams undefeated — after Oklahoma State lost to Central Michigan, Texas Tech was outlasted by Arizona, and TCU fell to Arkansas — and of those teams, Baylor has played nobody, and few believe West Virginia and Texas are serious threats. It badly needs Oklahoma, which was exposed by Houston in Week 1 and was supposed to be the one powerhouse the Big 12 could offer, to knock off Ohio State in Norman on Saturday.
Late flag on refs doesn’t change a thing
It didn’t take long for officials to blow a game. Oklahoma State was robbed of victory in its 30-27 loss to Central Michigan when a rule was misinterpreted that allowed the Chippewas to run an extra play that resulted in a Hail Mary and lateral for a touchdown. It came after Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph was called for intentional grounding on fourth down while the Cowboys were trying to run out the clock to end the game. Officiating crews from the Mid-American and the Big 12 conferences were suspended Sunday. Too little, too late — as usual.
The Post’s top 10
1. Alabama (2-0)
Imagine what the Crimson Tide will look like when Nick Saban is actually pleased with how they perform? Alabama has won its two games, over USC and Western Kentucky, by a combined 90-16, and Saban has ripped them following each victory.
2. Florida State (2-0)
After a shoddy start against Ole Miss, the Seminoles’ defense has allowed just 14 points in its last six quarters. It will need to be at its best Saturday against Louisville and dynamic, dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson.
3. Ohio State (2-0)
Urban Meyer’s young and talented group gets its first test Saturday when the Buckeyes visit Oklahoma, a showdown that could significantly boost Ohio State’s playoff résumé entering the Big Ten season.
4. Clemson (2-0)
Sure, the Tigers are 2-0, but it’s far from an impressive 2-0, beating Auburn and Troy by a paltry 12 points. Fortunately for Clemson, it stills has six weeks before the big trip to Florida State.
5. Stanford (1-0)
If wide receiver Michael Rector can really stretch the field, as he did in Stanford’s season-opening victory, it will free up Christian McCaffrey and the Cardinal’s trademark rushing attack.
6. Michigan (2-0)
The competition is low quality — Hawaii and Central Florida are the definition of cupcakes — but Michigan is averaging 57 points per game, a testament to the hot start by redshirt-sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight.
7. Washington (2-0)
Chris Petersen comes from the Art Briles school of non-conference scheduling, lining up Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State for his Huskies. No wonder they’re 2-0, and soon to be 3-0.
8. Georgia (2-0)
Following up an inspiring come-from-behind win over North Carolina by nearly blowing a big lead to FCS program Nicholls State? Sounds like the same inconsistent Bulldogs to us.
9. Houston (2-0)
The Cougars were fine for a week without quarterback Greg Ward Jr. (shoulder), but that was against Lamar. Asking Houston to win at Cincinnati without Ward would be asking too much if he can’t go.
10. Louisville (2-0)
Jackson has quickly become appointment television, producing 13 touchdowns in two weeks, and now the sophomore quarterback gets a chance against Florida State to make a national statement.
Heisman watch
RB Kalen Ballage, Arizona State
Who, you may ask? The junior running back who tied an NCAA record by scoring eight touchdowns, seven on the ground and 137 yards, in a 68-55 win over Texas Tech.
QB J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
Nine touchdowns, six through the air, is just the kind of start Barrett needed. Another big performance, against Oklahoma on Saturday, will really open voters’ eyes.
QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville
The leader in the clubhouse after two weekends, the sophomore dual threat led Louisville to 845 yards of total offense in a 62-28 thrashing of Syracuse, the most yards the Orange have ever given up.
RB Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
We shudder to think what McCaffrey will do to that woeful USC defense, which allowed 242 rushing yards to Alabama in Week 1.
QB Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Make Deshaun Watson great again, please. Matching his prolific numbers of a year ago was never going to be an easy feat, but through two weeks, the Heisman favorite has thrown just four touchdowns compared to three interceptions.