Louisville Athletics: Ranking the Best Teams of the Last 10 Years

5) 2016 Football 

Highlights: Highest ranking ever, Lamar Jackson Heisman win, beat No. 2 FSU.

Initial reaction might not be that this is a top 5 team over the last decade. But, if you put into perspective the nation impact that the 2016 football team had for the future of the University of Louisville, it makes perfect sense.

The 2016 football team was the hottest in the country for the first half of the season. Lamar Jackson went from dark horse Heisman contender to full fledged superstar in three games. Louisville football might not have fielded it’s greatest team ever, but for the majority of the season, this was by far it’s most talked about team.

In the end, the Cards were plagued by injury, and eventually ran out of steam. If it weren’t for Lamar Jackson coming down with a case of turf toe, and the Cards losing continuity on defense, we could be talking about this team as one of the best teams ever.

The 2016 Cards destroyed then- No.2 Florida State by 43, and took eventual national champion Clemson to quite literally the last play of the game on the road in Death Valley.

Louisville reached it’s highest regular season ranking ever, at No. 3 in the country, and Lamar Jackson wound up winning the Heisman, and just about every major award he was up for.

In the end, that was good enough to crack our top 5.