Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Cardinals, Jackson run away
NO. 17 LOUISVILLE 55, MURRAY STATE 10
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In a week full of outside distractions, No. 17 Louisville was focused on the field with overwhelming results.
Lamar Jackson had a short but productive day, throwing for 249 yards and three touchdowns in just over a half, and the Cardinals (4-1) routed Murray State 55-10 on Saturday.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, who had just one play after halftime, added 100 yards rushing and a TD on seven carries. He’s now just 13 yards short of becoming the seventh player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to reach 10,000 total career yards.
“He’s a freak of nature, honestly,” said redshirt freshman wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, who caught two of Jackson’s touchdown passes. “He’s something I’ve never seen before. I’m just blessed playing with him.”
Jawon Pass stepped in after Jackson left, throwing for 115 yards and one touchdown and added another TD on the ground with 29 seconds left in the game. The two quarterbacks completed passes to 14 different players as the Cardinals totaled 364 yards through the air. Louisville rolled up 312 yards on the ground.
The Cardinals led 35-3 at halftime as they held the Racers (1-4) to 8 rushing yards in the first half. The Racers’ only touchdown came after Pass fumbled the snap on the first play in the third quarter and defensive back Jason Johnson recovered and returned it 23 yards for the score.
At halftime, the Louisville men’s basketball team received a more than 90-second standing ovation from the crowd of 47,826 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The school announced David Padgett as the team’s interim coach Friday. The school has acknowledged its involvement in a federal investigation and placed head basketball Coach Rick Pitino on unpaid administrative leave.
“It’s been a hard week and heartbreaking for our university and our city,” Coach Bobby Petrino said. “But one of the things we wanted to do as a team was just really focus, stay together, hopefully play well and give some inspiration to the fans and the city of Louisville.”