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Lamar Jackson opens Louisville's season in record-setting style
Lamar Jackson made a statement to those who left him off their short list of Heisman Trophy candidates.
The Louisville QB passed for 286 yards, ran for 119 yards and accounted for eight touchdowns – all by halftime -- in the 19th-ranked Cardinals’ season-opening 70-14 win over Charlotte on Thursday night. The eight TDs (six passing, two rushing) are a school record.
Overshadowed in all those gawdy numbers is this ridiculous stat: Jackson completed passes to 16 different players. Sixteen!
"I was just trying to get everyone the ball," Jackson said, according to The Associated Press. “We have a lot of big-time players, and I'm trying to get the ball in their hands instead of it looking like me running around all the time."
As a freshman last season, Jackson passed for 1,840 yards and 12 TDs while rushing for 960 yards and 11 scores. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound QB capped the 2015 season with 453 total yards and four TDs in Louisville’s 27-21 win over Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl.
And he picked up right where he left off.
Perhaps Charlotte coach Brad Lambert said it best: “He can make you look bad in a hurry.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
HALFTIME: @UofLFootball holds a 56-0 lead, with Lamar Jackson's school-record 8 TDs; also has 405 all-purpose yards. pic.twitter.com/UTUFzjjqC4
— LouisvilleFootball (@UofLFootball) September 2, 2016
#Louisville QB Lamar Jackson's last 3 gms: 15 TDs; 17.4 yds per completion; 10.6 yds per carry. Has accounted for 14 TDs in his last 8 QTRs
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 2, 2016
