Jackson, No. 5 Louisville stunned by Houston

[November 18, 2016]  During a postgame interview on national TV, Houston coach Tom Herman greeted quarterback Greg Ward with a hug and a peck on the cheek.

As for No. 5 Louisville, it kissed its national championship hopes goodbye in a meltdown that started with the opening kickoff and never really ended.

The Cougars took the lead 11 seconds into Thursday night's marquee non-conference matchup and never looked back, pounding Heisman Trophy favorite Lamar Jackson at will and routing the Cardinals 36-10 before a sellout crowd at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

Both teams are 9-2, but it was Houston that looked like a national championship contender instead of Louisville. After moving up one spot in the CFP rankings, the Cardinals questioned why they weren't in the top four.

The Cougars provided the answers, sacking Jackson 11 times and playing an efficient game offensively to establish a 31-0 halftime lead that Louisville wasn't about to erase, even when it exhibited spasms of competence during the third quarter.

"We have a chip on our shoulder probably bigger than anyone in America," Herman said. "What tonight proved was that when we're fresh, we're healthy and playing at home, we can play with anyone in America."

Particularly when Houston sets a tone as it did in the first two plays. Cardinals kickoff return man Malik Williams fumbled the ball to the Cougars' Dillon Birden at the Louisville 13 and Ward promptly found Duke Catalon on the opening play for a 7-0 lead that only grew.

It grew because Jackson, who had accounted for 46 touchdowns in the first 10 games to help the Cardinals lead FBS in scoring offense and total offense, got no protection from an offensive line that was overwhelmed by Houston's blitzing defense.

Jackson completed only 20 of 43 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. The 244 total yards -- he was credited with 33 rushing yards -- was a season low for Jackson, and the 11 sacks is the most Louisville has ever allowed.

"They just blitzed every single play and we made a lot of errors, lost our discipline," Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said. "It was an embarrassing performance."

Frazzled by the crowd noise and hampered by the Cougars' unpredictable blitzes, Louisville's offensive line never found a way to block nose tackle Ed Oliver. The freshman continually penetrated the backfield, often with company, and sacked Jackson twice, broke up two passes and forced a fumble.

Steven Taylor found Jackson with even more frequency than Oliver, adding 2 1/2 sacks to his 14 tackles. Six other Houston defenders joined the sack parade, blowing past linemen who whiffed block after block when they weren't blowing the snap count. The Cardinals were flagged 15 times for 114 yards, many of them pre-snap infractions.

"We stayed aggressive and we forced turnovers," Herman said.

After Ty Cummings' 33-yard field goal made it 10-0 with 49 seconds left in the first quarter, the Cougars added three second quarter touchdowns to basically decide the game.

Catalon caught his second 13-yard scoring strike from Ward with 12:18 left in the half, then tacked on a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a 73-yard, 12-play drive at the 6:53 mark. Running back Linell Bonner capped the explosion with a 50-yard option pass to Chance Allen with 5:13 on the clock.

Jackson put the Cardinals on the board with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Cole Hikutini with 10:02 left in the third quarter, but missed a chance to cut the deficit to 31-14 later in the quarter when he lost a fumble at the Houston 9-yard line.

Fittingly, the Cougars put an exclamation mark on this one with defense. Tyus Bowser's pressure forced Jackson into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for a rulebook safety with 3:55 remaining.

Ward wasn't spectacular, completing 25 of 44 passes for 233 yards and the two scores to Catalon, but played a clean game that rubbed off on his teammates. Houston committed no turnovers and was penalized once for five yards.

"We got beat in all phases," Petrino said. "Their offense beat our defense, their defense beat our offense. They beat our special teams and they outcoached us."

NOTES: Louisville TE Cole Hikutini was selected Monday as one of eight semifinalists for the 2016 John Mackey Award, given to the nation's top tight end. ... The Cardinals and Cougars came into the game ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing defense and total defense. ... Houston improved to 5-0 as an underdog in coach Tom Herman's two seasons. Four of those wins are by double figures.

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