All the off-season chatter that No. 9 Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater might be the first quarterback taken in next year’s NFL draft looked spot-on on Sunday as the junior sliced and diced Ohio to the tune of 355 yards and a career-high-tying five touchdowns in his team’s 49-7 route of the Bobcats.
Bridgewater picked up where he left off in last year’s Sugar Bowl against Florida, completing 23 of 28 passes, including his first nine throws as the Cardinals raced out of the gate with 42 unanswered points.
Louisville’s offense was a well-oiled machine, accumulating 615 total yards while going 13 of 16 on third down conversions. It was good on the ground, too, racking up 199 yards, including 48 from former Auburn star Michael Dyer.
Ohio looked overwhelmed all game long and didn’t get on the scoreboard until late in the third quarter when Ryan Boykin scored on a 10-yard run. The Bobcats managed just 273 total yards and missed two field goals.
It was important for Bridgewater and Louisville to look as dominating as possible considering they were taking part in one of just two games played on Sunday. They did just that. But will it make a lasting impression with the college football world?
It’s hard to say. After all, we may not see much of Louisville in the weeks to come, as the Cardinals will spend September playing the likes of Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky and Florida International. It’ll be difficult for Louisville to make a case for itself as one of the nation’s best teams against such a lackluster slate. The same goes for Bridgewater and his Heisman hopes.
In the end, voters who feel Louisville is the best team and that Bridgewater is the best player may have little to go on other than faith.