Louisville Football: Sports Illustrated gives Lamar Jackson more Heisman respect

“If you tuned into Louisville’s matchup with the Blue Devils expecting to see the sort of pyrotechnic show Jackson has conducted on the regular this season, you probably came away a little bit disappointed. Whereas the Cardinals’ previous Friday night game, at Syracuse on Sept. 9, sent Jackson’s Heisman bid soaring into the stratosphere (and included Jackson literally soaring over a defender), last week served as a reminder that, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, he is, in fact, mortal. The Blue Devils held Jackson below his season average in rushing yards per game and made sure he never got rolling through the air, forcing the sophomore to record a season low in completion percentage (50%) and his second-worst quarterback rating (121.2).

The circumstances surrounding this game hinted at a touchdown barrage that ceased to be competitive well before the start of the fourth quarter. Jackson had run circles around the nation’s No. 2 S&P defense (Clemson) in his previous outing and was coming off a bye. Duke deserves credit for making Jackson uncomfortable, but his showing will reflect as something of a let down. That’s less an indictment on his play than a recognition that Jackson is capable of so much more. He still accounted for 325 yards and two touchdowns in a 10-point win, after all. That’s pretty good.”