On Tuesday, Louisville players questioned their place at No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
By Thursday night, the players may have been questioning if they deserved to be ranked at all.
The Cardinals were blown off the field in impressive fashion by giant-killer Houston 36-10 in a game that the Cougars dominated in just about every aspect. In many ways it was over before it began as Louisville fumbled the opening kickoff and promptly gave up a touchdown on the next play, never taking an offensive snap with the score even tied.
Heisman Trophy favorite Lamar Jackson didn’t ruin his chances for college football’s most prestigious trophy but the quarterback did take a hit to his campaign in the eyes of many with the loss. He was one of the lone bright spots for the Louisville offense however, and needed every ounce of athleticism to somehow rack up 211 yards passing and another 33 on the ground given that his offensive line gave up 11 sacks .
Part of the reason for his rough night was due to the play of Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver. The five-star freshman was a factor on every snap and counted countless pressures among his six tackles, two sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. He injured his right knee late in the third quarter and sat out the final quarter with ice on his leg or else his numbers would have been even more impressive. Linebacker Steven Taylor also impressed on defense, finishing with 14 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble himself.
Houston signal-caller Greg Ward Jr. looked healthy for the first time since beating Oklahoma earlier in the year and torched Todd Grantham’s defense. The dual-threat moved all around the field to find open throwing lanes and finished the game with 233 yards and two touchdowns, including one score that was tipped by one receiver right into the waiting arms of another early in the first half.
While Louisville is no doubt upset at a result that assuredly knocks them out of contention for a semifinal berth, the loss does not damage the team’s postseason landing spot in the New Year’s Six and what should be a berth in the Orange Bowl.
As for Houston, they only further confirmed Tom Herman will be the most talked about name in the coaching carousel this offseason after knocking off yet another top five opponent. It was certainly one to remember for the Cougars, which extended their home winning streak to an FBS-leading 15 in a row.