The Louisville Cardinals, once considered a favorite to make the College Football Playoff, ended their season with a whimper.
After losing decisively to Houston last week, they failed to beat inferior in-state rival Kentucky in the final week of the regular season. The offending culprit in their loss? Heisman hopeful Lamar Jackson.
https://twitter.com/Scott_Charlton/status/802610205636915201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It is difficult to say that the game was decided on this one play. In truth, Louisville should not have given Kentucky the opportunity to stick around the way they did.
The seeds of this loss are in the subpar defensive effort the Cardinals put forth all game. But with that said, the late fumble didn’t help.
Jackson struggled through the air, throwing three interceptions in only 25 total attempts. And while he rushed for nearly 171 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, the porous defense finally bent too far and was broken by the Kentucky Wildcats.
At last, Kentucky fired the final shot in the season of the Louisville Cardinals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORUALmEh180
As early as last week, Louisville felt it had an outside shot at making the College Football . It needed strong showings against Houston and Kentucky, two teams they expected to be fairly handily.
Things did not pan out in that fashion, though.
After the Cougars held the Jackson led Cardinals to only 10 points, the malaise seemed to carry over to the following week.
While Jackson may still win the Heisman, this season will likely be remember with a what could have been attitude.
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