Houston spoils Louisville’s playoff hopes with 36-10 win

If Navy threw a wrench in Houston’s hopes, SMU took them outside and finished them off with a baseball bat. Louisville entered the night leading the nation in scoring (49.6 points per game), and yet it was shut out in the first half, trailing 31-0 at halftime. That’s the epitaph on this one, but there was more.

With that being said, if any one of them watched this game against Houston, they would understand that this loss was on the offensive line and not Lamar Jackson.

There was a sense that the drama and upsets late in the college season wouldn’t be over, and Louisville were crushed in Houston Thursday night. The offense, the blade that delivers the cuts, gets most of the attention, but it’s the defense that’s provided the weight for the 8-2 Cougars. The Cardinals came into Thursday’s game with a minus-2 turnover differential and ranked 118th of out 128 FBS schools in penalty yardage per game.

Granted, Louisville wasn’t doing itself any favors by committing 16 penalties on the night, mostly on false starts and holding.

This is an interesting question, given how we’re not used to Jackson having quiet nights such as the one he had against Houston. For the first time in weeks, they were playing a quality opponent in prime time on ESPN.

Of course, reality says any win here might not matter if Louisville doesn’t get help from other teams.

Jackson put the Cardinals on the board with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Cole Hikutini with 10:02 left in the third quarter, but missed a chance to cut the deficit to 31-14 later in the quarter when he lost a fumble at the Houston 9-yard line. He simply had no chance to succeed as the pocket collapsed around him and provided nowhere to run.

It also dealt a considerable blow to Jackson’s Heisman hopes, given his struggles.

This wasn’t the first time the Cougars have limited Jackson, either. Greg Ward Jr. will have to be outstanding, yes, but the keys for the Houston Cougars all rest with how they defend Lamar Jackson’s dual-threat ability.

Ward wasn’t spectacular, completing 25 of 44 passes for 233 yards and the two scores to Catalon, but played a clean game that rubbed off on his teammates. Louisville ran 83 plays for 312 total yards, averaging a paltry 3.8 yards per play – less than half of its previous season average of 7.8.

A note on the Heisman Trophy race. Even if Alabama and Clemson win out, all they had to do was win out and inevitably leapfrog the loser of the Ohio State-Michigan game.

If Clemson loses to Wake Forest on the road this Saturday, Louisville will actually be the Atlantic Division champion. There’s no doubt they had Louisville’s attention and that this was a game the Cardinals should have been ready for.

Ironically, it was the Houston Cougars, a team from the American Athletic Conference, that stole Louisville’s thunder and will ultimately keep the Cardinals from reaching their desired destination.

Now any considerations of hypothetical finishes are rendered moot. The Cardinals are out of playoff contention.

So who benefits from Louisville’s collapse? Every team on the playoff bubble to some extent, but mostly the Big 12’s playoff hopefuls. That’s why it’s important for MI to win out and eliminate Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State from the conversation.