Jackson lifts No. 17 Louisville past UNC, 47-35
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. » Lamar Jackson shrugged off preseason questions about his chances of becoming only the second two-time Heisman Trophy winner, saying it wasn’t a focus when he won it last year, nor would it be this fall.
That approach is working just fine, too.
Jackson accounted for 525 total yards and six touchdowns to help No. 17 Louisville pull away late and beat North Carolina 4735 on Saturday, giving him more than 1,000 yards of total offense in two games.
“Last night I thought about that, like, ‘Wow, this man here is special,”’ said receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, who had two TD catches from Jackson. “He can do it all. He can throw, he can run, his football IQ is off the charts — everything. Really, just a once-in-a-lifetime type of quarterback.”
The junior threw for 393 yards and three scores while also running for 132 yards and three TDs. The last came on a spinningthrough-tacklers 11-yard run with 3:06 left to punctuate a dominant fourthquarter effort by the Cardinals (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Jackson had 485 total yards in last week’s win against Purdue, with 107 of those coming on the ground.
“When you’re in a situation, in a 1-on-1 with him, in open space, he’s going to win,” UNC coach Larry Fedora said. “And there’s times when you’re in a 2-on-1 in open space he’s going to win. There aren’t a whole lot of guys that can do that.”
Junior Jaylen Smith had nine catches for a careerhigh 183 yards and a score for Louisville, which rolled to 705 yards.
The Cardinals trailed 2827 entering the final quarter, but went ahead on Jackson’s 3-yard keeper with 13:50 left. Louisville’s defense then came up with two fourth-down stops — one at its own 1-yard line — to end promising drives by the Tar Heels (0-2, 0-1).
THE TAKEAWAY
LOUISVILLE » There didn’t seem to be a lot of preseason buzz about Jackson’s Heisman chances. But this game was a reminder of how effortless Jackson can make things look, whether he was connecting downfield or weaving through UNC’s defense on another sticks-moving run. UNC » The Tar Heels are 0-2 for the first time since 2010 and leave this game with a lot of questions. UNC’s shuffled offensive line lost starting center Cam Dillard in the third quarter and was already without injured starter Bentley Spain (hand injury). Meanwhile, the defense that was supposed to be improved thanks to more returning experience offered meager resistance to Jackson and the Cardinals.
“It’s shocking, it’s disappointing, it’s something we’ve definitely got to pick up on,” UNC linebacker Cayson Collins said.