Louisville football: Ranking the top plays since 2010
By Jacob Lane
No. 6 – Lamar Jackson announces his Heisman candidacy against Florida State with a 47-yard touchdown run
It’s incredible to think that two of the top 12 plays of the last nine years came from the same game, but honestly, we could’ve included more. That game was filled with highlight after highlight after highlight from Lamar Jackson, Jaire Alexander and the whole football program.
This play to me stands out above the rest because of the speed of Lamar Jackson, the ability to make people miss, and considering the fact that he’s doing it against four and five-star talent. Jackson scored four times on the ground against FSU and he probably could’ve scored two or three more times if he wanted to.
Plus, that spin at the end making two defenders miss tackles is just unreal.
No. 5 – Bilal Powell breaks every tackle en route to an 85-yard rushing touchdown against Cincinnati
At play number five we from one Louisville football star making everyone miss due to his speed and elusiveness to another making defenders miss with pure power and aggression.
In a 14-7 game, Louisville quarterback Adam Froman drops back for a simple handoff to running back Billal Powell, who quickly is met by five or more Cincinnati defenders.
Instead of going down for a three or four yard gain, Powell keeps his feet moving and is able to bust through a wall of defenders, carrying one for several yards before he gets a nifty block from Doug Beaumont.
Powell proceeds to go about fifty yards, showing great speed before he’s met by one final tackler with whom he makes mincemeat out of with a nasty stiff arm on his way to an 85-yard touchdown.
The senior running back would finish the game with 209 yards, making it two straight games with 200 plus yards rushing. This play would be the one to set the tone for Charlie Strong in his ground-and-pound offense and though they were defeated by the Bearcats, the Cards would go on to go 6-6 on the season and win their first bowl game since the 2007 Orange Bowl.
No. 4 – Lamar Jackson throws game-winning touchdown to Jaylen Smith for victory over Virginia (2016)
I told you that you’d see Lamar Jackson to Jaylen Smith several times on this list, as the two combined for too many big-time plays to count in their three seasons together at Louisville. With the game hanging in the balance against Virginia in 2017, there was probably no play between the two bigger than this.
On first and ten with less than 20 seconds to go, down by a single point within striking distance, Bobby Petrino dialed up a bold play for Lamar Jackson. Instead of throwing it to the sidelines and getting out of bounds to stop the clock, or looking for a quick run and time out to kick a field goal for the win, Petrino trusted Jackson’s decision making and big play ability.
Though no. 5 ranked Louisville should’ve never been in this predicament against an overmatched Virginia team in the first place, we got to see Jackson show his clutchness in a time were the season truly was on the line for the Cards with a shot at the College Football Playoffs still in the picture.
What was even more impressive was Jaylen Smith’s display of athleticism and awareness to go up and get this ball while being covered tightly in one-on-one coverage. Jackson put the ball in an incredible spot for Smith, but without him having the strength and hands to go up and get this, it would’ve made things even more tough for the Cards to pull out.