Through the air? Color Cook impressed.
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While Jackson’s emergence has grabbed the attention of the rest of the country, a run at an ACC title – and perhaps more – was the plan for the defense all along. I knew what he could do on his feet. He got better as a passer in that offense, in that system. I am placing 40% on the points as long as I can get 3 or more and I am placing 30% on Louisville on the money line. In that game Jackson went 20-39, throwing for 411 yards and a touchdown. Cook had University of Miami-bound Joseph Yearby in the backfield with him and future Hurricanes left tackle Trevor Darling blocking for him. James figured to be a key component for Florida State in the attempt to slow down Jackson. It’s the first visit to Louisville for the show, which normally docks at college football’s epicenter each Saturday.
Last week featured zero games between two ranked teams, the first time that had happened since September 8, 2012. “If you put him on another team like St. Thomas or Booker T.”, Cook said, “he’d have taken those programs to another level”. Charlotte is one of the worst FBS teams in college football and Syracuse will likely lose more games than they win this year. Through two games Jackson has tallied over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 13 total touchdowns. Needless to say, Florida State is more talented than both of those squads. The emphasis is on “at least”, because the standard rehabilitation time for that procedure is three months. “Because the 6′ 3”, 211-pound sophomore is one of those human Swiss Army Knives who can play almost any position on a defense.
This year, Deondre Francois has taken over the offense and led the Seminoles to a pair of wins.
Lamar Jackson sure knows how to hurdle.
James is everywhere on the field for the Seminoles.
The Seminoles have a top running back of their own in Dalvin Cook, against Ole Miss he grabbed seven passes for 101 yards. Now, someone else will have to fill those roles.
“I feel great. There’s no rust”, Cook said. The other thing is his intelligence. For the first time since 2012, there were no top 25 match-ups on the schedule, meaning that no top 25 ranked team played another top 25 ranked team. He got Francois and Louisville got Jackson. It won’t be easy. I mean, this guy was a dynamic playmaker. So we’re going to have our hands full.
“He makes quick decisions and he’s extremely fast”, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. Linebacker Matthew Thomas is very athletic and has so far lived up to the hype around him coming into 2016. Thomas is a junior, but injuries and suspensions derailed his career prior to this season. I think it’s important to factor in not only the competition, but also the abilities of Lamar Jackson when avoiding the rush when you grade the offensive line. Louisville has been beaten deep a handful of times this season and Florida State’s wide receivers can separate pretty well. The Rebels’ couldn’t handle the speed of that particular Florida State front when pass blocking, and they steadfastly refused to try to establish a running game. He earned NCAA college football offensive player of the week honors for the second week in a row, becoming only the second college player to win this award in two consecutive weeks since the award was introduced in 2004. We knew both guys had a chance to be outstanding.
“We always start off good in the first half and then kind of slip up in the second half and don’t do what we normally do”, senior linebacker Keith Kelsey said.
Neither of those can happen if Louisville is going to knock off Florida State. Last year, the Cards led 7-6 at halftime en route to a 41-21 defeat. “I’m taking what the defense gives me”.
Galloway was at West Virginia while Jackson was in high school.
As for Jackson making the Florida-to-Louisville trek blazed by the NFL-bound Miamian Teddy Bridgewater, the first name on Swain’s athlete list up there proved pivotal. If the Seminoles can jump to an early lead – which would be a drastic reversal from their past two meetings with Louisville – they would force Louisville into a chuck-and-duck offense.
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The BCS and its computer rankings had effectively turned losses into such a negative that title-minded teams had little-to-no incentive to schedule hard nonconference games in the first place.
