Kentucky beats Louisville after late Lamar Jackson fumble

Unfortunately for United Kingdom coach and defensive play-caller Mark Stoops, pressuring opposing quarterbacks is not something his defense does well. Their last win for the regular season came against 11th ranked Louisville as Austin MacGinnis sent a bullet through the uprights to ice the game.

Kentucky has ramped up its rushing attack since the first month of the season. If the Cats can win their bowl to finish the season at 8-5, he and his staff will have something upon which to build and sell season tickets for 2017.

With Heisman front-runner Lamar Jackson in Louisville’s backfield, the Kentucky defense went into Papa John’s stadium knowing they’d have their hands full. “We ran a similar play to what we ran earlier, and he handed the ball off and we ran into the end zone and he misread that one and didn’t take care of the ball the way he knows how to”.

PITTSBURGH – Nate Peterman threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another to lead Pittsburgh to a 76-61 victory over Syracuse, the Panthers’ point total higher than any that their basketball team scored in three victories over the Orange last season.

No. 4 Clemson 56, SC 7 • Deshaun Watson tied his career high with six touchdown passes, three to Mike Williams, and passed for 347 yards as the Tigers (11-1, No. 4 CFP) romped at home.

Louisville’s Jackson finished the game with 281 yards passing, 171 yards rushing and four combined touchdowns, but was not able to overcome three turnovers and three sacks on the day. Should he still win the Heisman despite the losses and turnovers?

United Kingdom opened the second half with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was sustained mostly by the big play of Johnson.

Kentucky: Stephen Johnson’s season-long success with deep post passes continued in the first half with TDs that kept the Cardinals on their heels.

Jackson completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for two touchdowns in the loss. They finished with 457 yards rushing and averaged almost 10 yards per carry. Two of Johnson’s TD passes went to Garrett Johnson, who caught five passes for 164 yards.

Down 24-21 at the half, Kentucky pushed ahead 28-24 on an 18-yard touchdown run by Benny Snell, capping a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

Louisville answered with a touchdown of their own to take a 3-point lead but immediately were tied at 31 as MacGinnis hit a 35-yard FG.

The Wildcats intercepted a last-second heave by Jackson to cap the upset.

The Cardinals forced a punt and Louisville got the ball back at the Louisville 45 with 9:32 left.

The Louisville sophomore had a record-setting day on Saturday, even striking a spontaneous Heisman pose following a game-tying touchdown midway through the fourth quarter before all that jubilation turned to disappointment after a 41-38 loss.

If you thought this had been a roller coaster, you’re in for the grand finale.

Still, signal-caller Stephen Johnson’s not immune from throwing a costly interception. The game against Kentucky will be his home finale, and it already feels surreal.

Oh yeah, to make everything worse, Louisville gave up 581 yards of total offense on Saturday.

The box score said the winning kick traveled 47 yards. Stephen Johnson then led Kentucky (7-5) downfield and into position for MacGinnis’ game-winning kick that ended Kentucky’s five-game losing streak in the series.