Louisville football: Ranking the top plays since 2010
By Jacob Lane
No. 9 – Jaylen Smith reels in one hand touchdown grab against Virginia (2016)
The second of three Lamar Jackson to Jaylen Smith plays comes in at number nine, and this may be one of the most impressive of them all.
Just like the 75-yard bomb at number 10, Lamar Jackson and Jaylen Smith both make incredible things happen leading up to the impressive play itself.
For Jackson, he once again shows incredible footwork, patience, athleticism, and accuracy in escaping pressure and finding Smith streaking down the sideline open headed towards the endzone.
For Jaylen Smith, he seemed to be running a simple crossing route over the middle of the field but as the play breaks down (as they usually did due to the struggles up front) Jackson has to get out of the pocket and avoid the pressure. Instead of hanging out near the sideline, Smith makes an impressive decision and cuts upfield beating his man down the sideline in the process.
That leads to the impressive strike from Jackson and even better one-handed, OBJ like grab for Jaylen Smith, putting the Cards up 31-14 on their way to a win over Virginia.
No. 8 – Corvin Lamb takes the Miami kick off 97-yards to the house (2014)
I think we can all agree that kickoff returns for touchdowns are pretty damn fun, but for Louisville fans, there’s only been a handful of them over the last several seasons.
The most memorable was without question came from speedster Corvin Lamb during UofL’s ACC debut against Miami in 2014.
Louisville had pounded Miami pretty good in 2013 in the Russell Athletic Bowl, which we can all agree was big but not a huge national statement, but what it did was make the rematch just eight months later on Labor Day that much more important.
The stage was set for Louisville to show the nation on prime time television that they belonged in the ACC and could play with the “big boys.” This was also the first game in the Bobby Petrino 2.0 era, and Cards fans knew that a big step into national prominence was on the horizon.
With Louisville down 10-7 during the back half of the second quarter and set to receive a kickoff following a Miami field goal, Corvin Lamb turned on the burners and took it to the house.
Being at that game, I can remember the moment Corvin Lamb broke through the first line of tacklers and it was obvious he was going to go into the endzone untouched. Cardinal stadium’s dynamic and energy changed in a matter of seconds, and new electricity filled with hope and optimism for the future of the Cards in the ACC flooded the building.
The Cards went on to win 31-13 behind 2 touchdowns from quarterback Will Gardner and 143 yards and a score from running back Dom Brown. This was only the beginning of special things to come for Louisville.
No. 7 – Lamar Jackson makes a national statement against Texas A&M (2015)
After starting the season 0-3 in 2015, Louisville found new hope when freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson permanently took over as the team’s starter after some impressive glimpses against Auburn and Houston early in the season.
The team had its ups and downs through the season as they adjusted to the rigors of the ACC with a fairly young squad, but rebounded strongly towards the end of the season – including an incredible comeback against Kentucky behind Lamar Jackson.
All the momentum was headed in the right way as the Cards went into a matchup in the Music City Bowl against SEC foe Texas A&M, and their soon to be number one draft pick defensive end, Myles Garrett. Louisville had a great chance to win, but not many people expected the breakout performance of Lamar Jackson.
Throwing for 227 yards, running for another 225, combining for four total touchdowns, there was newfound hope for Louisville and it was all because of the once in a generation talent being put on display by Lamar Jackson.
There was a lot that stuck out from that game, but none more so than the 61-yard rushing touchdown that showed the rare athleticism and elusiveness