The sophomore out of Boynton Beach, Florida, picked up eight – that’s right, eight – touchdowns in the first half of the Cardinals’ thrashing of Charlotte. The eight TDs (six passing, two rushing) are a school record. It got so bad that Louisville coach Bobby Petrino didn’t bother sending him back out when the teams emerged from the tunnels.
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What do actor Samuel L. Jackson and the University of Louisville have in common?
Jackson weaved a 1-yard TD run between a run of powerful throws that broke the game open.
UofL would accumulate 391 yards passing and another 272 yards rushing while Charlotte was eking out 48 yards on the ground 160 through the air, the vast majority of those coming in the second half. This allowed Louisville to tie their school record for most first quarter points in school history.
He completed 17 of 23 passes for 286 yards and ran for 119 yards in 11 carries, including a 36-yard touchdown run on Louisville’s opening drive. Only one first half drive-their second, which ended in a punt-ended without a touchdown.
Charlotte coach Brad Lambert is 12-22 entering his fourth season leading the program.
While the offense was producing touchdowns, the defense was hard at work keeping down Charlotte. Louisville outgained Charlotte 663-208.
Louisville WRs vs. Charlotte’s secondary. “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”. “We tackled well, and we didn’t give them much room at all to pass or run”, Petrino said.
Micah Abernathy ended the game by breaking up a pass into the end zone on fourth and five from the 20, preventing Appalachian State from producing another shocker nine years to the day after the Mountaineers stunned No. 5 MI in one of the greatest upsets in college football history.
Joshua Dobbs went 16 of 29 on passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, while Jalen Hurd rushed 28 times for 110 yards and a score and Josh Malone took two catches for 81 yards, including a 67-yard pass from Dobbs for a touchdown. Petrino then made another QB change and subbed in Ethan Orton. Appalachian State’s other touchdown came in the second quarter on a 33-yard completion from Lamb to Marcus Cox, who also rushed for 115 yards. The final was 70-14 with Louisville getting the win.
The Cardinals take on the Syracuse Orange on September 9.
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The blowout did not phase Coach Petrino though, and he knows it is only the first game in a long and arduous season.
