Cross the Louisville Cardinals off the College Football Playoff contenders list. The Houston Cougars pulled out all the stops Thursday night, including a WR pass and a fake punt, to crush the Cardinals 36-10. The Cougars were up 31-0 at the half and cruised to a win, despite slowing down on offense.
Louisville fumbled the opening kickoff, leading to a Houston TD in the first 11 seconds. It was all Cougars after that, with the Cardinals failing to score until the 10:02 mark of the third quarter.
The Louisville offense had nothing going in the first half, as the Houston pass rush took away the run and harassed Lamar Jackson. The Heisman front-runner had all but five of his team yards in the first half, but two Cardinal turnovers (neither by Jackson) and 74 yards in penalties limited what Jackson could actually do.
Jackson finished the game with 30 of 43 for 211 yards and a TD through the air, plus 33 yards on the ground. He would add a turnover in the third quarter that helped stunt any hopes of a comeback. He was sacked an astonishing 10 times, making those 33 yards on the ground all the more impressive. In college, sacks count as negative rushing yards.
Greg Ward was impressive for the Cougars, with 25 of 44 passing for 233 yards and two scores, plus 24 yards on the ground. Duke Catalon was impressive as well, with 39 rushing yards, a score, 9 receptions for 68 yards and two TDs.
Houston was unranked, thanks to mid-season losses to Navy and SMU, but looked like the team that beat Oklahoma to start the season. It might be the last stand of Tom Herman, a coveted coach who has already been linked to other jobs. If he does leave, this is one heck of a going-out party, even if Houston's season isn't over yet.
The Louisville loss helps the other teams on the CFP bubble. Ohio State, Washington, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Penn State, Wisconsin and Colorado were all hoping for a U of L loss.
Houston's final game is at Memphis next Saturday, while hosts Kentucky on the same day.
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