By Russ Brown
Special to NKyTribune
Let’s be honest. And blunt. Lamar Jackson saved Bobby Petrino from a very embarrassing loss that would have had University of Louisville fans questioning whether Petrino had lost his mojo and really deserved the public relations risk UofL athletics director Tom Jurich took in hiring the coach with a damaged reputation, both personally and professionally.
Petrino’s decision to start sophomore quarterback Kyle Bolin in Saturday’s Governor’s Cup game with Kentucky was an unmitigated disaster in front of 62,512 fans in Commonwealth Stadium.
Bolin’s two interceptions in the first quarter helped UK race to a 21-0 lead before Jackson, a true freshman, rescued the Cardinals (7-5), saved the day and second-guessing by Petrino critics by leading his team to a 38-24 victory for its fifth straight win in the series.
Petrino is now 6-0 against the Wildcats during his two-time stint with UofL, which is about the best you can say about his second-go-around with the Cards, who have just one victory this season against a team with a winning record — a very average North Carolina State club. Two seasons into his second UofL tenure, Petrino is still searching for a signature victory.
But he is still out of reach by UK, thanks to Jackson.
After the nightmarish start, during which UK needed to go only 13 yards to score following Bolin’s first interception and linebacker Josh Forrest returned the second pick 81 yards for a touchdown, enter Jackson with Louisville trailing 21-0 and looking like it was going to be on the wrong end of a rout.
The rookie needed just three plays to get the Cards in the end zone and that was a preview of coming attractions. By the time the game ended, Jackson had accounted for 316 yards and three touchdowns. He ran 17 times for 186 yards and two TDs and threw for 130 yards. He averaged 11 yards per carry. Nine of his carries netted at least 10 yards and he scored touchdowns on runs of 16 and 13 yards.
If Jackson is the future of the Louisville program, it is in good hands — and feet.
“I thought he really grew up,” Petrino said. “He made some great plays — running the ball, throwing it. I think that’s the thing that was good for me to see. He really concentrated on reading the plays. Not guessing and not making a predetermined decision. That’s when you’re starting to mature as a quarterback.”
The Cards completely dominated the game’s final three quarters to finish the biggest comeback the school has had since surging back to beat Tulane in the 1987 season-opener. UofL outscored the Cats 38-3 over the final 48 minutes, including 31-0 in the second half.
When Jackson entered the huddle about 10 minutes into the game, he said he simply told his offensive teammates, “It’s game time. Let’s go.”
Jackson said he had noticed while watching film of UK’s previous games this season that the Cats had had trouble with athletic quarterbacks who could run and turn bad plays into productive ones, which makes Petrino’s decision to start Bolin even more puzzling.
“They were wearing down,” Jackson said of the Cats as the game progressed. “They kept getting tired. They were giving up. So I just kept going.”
Jackson was named the named MVP. His reaction: “I have about two or three more years to go, so that’s nothing.”
UK’s Forrest admitted that the Cats were surprised by Jackson’s speed and indicated that the team’s preparation for him fell short.
“We planned on the other quarterback just throwing the ball a lot and (Jackson) came in and that was something we hadn’t planned for,” Forrest said.” I think we just focused so hard on our responsibilities, on making sure we were in the right spot for pass coverage (and) when they put the new quarterback in, they ran the ball a lot more than we had figured.”
Said UK coach Mark Stoops: “He made us look foolish at times.”
Other than Jackson, UofL’s two offensive stars were James Quick and Brandon Radcliff. Quick led the Cards with four catches for 94 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown reception that tied the score at 24.
Quick’s performance helped offset the loss of leading receiver Jamari Staples, who suffered a shoulder injury last week against Pittsburgh, but said during the week that he would be able to play Saturday. He entered the game in the first quarter, but came out after getting one reception.
“I thought James played really well,” Petrino said. “He made some huge plays for us. He’s another guy who provided a lot of leadership, a lot of energy. Every time we came off the sideline, he was one of the guys working hard, leading.”
Radcliff, after being held to negative yardage against Pittsburgh in a 45-34 loss the previous week, scored on runs of six and four yards and finished with 62 yards on 14 carries as UofL outgained UK 314-92 on the ground and 489-291 in total yardage. A week after Pitt had held the Cards to minus-1 yard rushing, they ran for a season-high 314 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.
“We knew that it was going to be on us to run the ball,” senior offensive tackle Aaron Epps said. “As an offensive line, we’ve got to run the ball. There is nothing else to it. We can protect but we got to run the ball. We’ve got to establish a running game for the wide receivers to get open.”
After a shaky start similar to the offense, Louisville’s defense was just as effective. The Cards gave up a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the game, and Bolin’s first interception returned to UofL’s 13 set up the second TD. Near the end of the first half, UofL’s defense held the Cats to a field goal, then the hosts didn’t score again.
The Cards limited UK to a mere 83 yards and two first downs in the second half when the Cats were just 1-of-8 on third down conversions.
The defense’s performance was all the more impressive because starting linebacker Trevon Young and reserve defensive end James Hearns were both suspended Thursday due to a violation of team rules and the Cards also lost linebacker and leading tackler Keith Kelsey in the first half with a leg injury.
Louisville will now await its sixth straight bowl destination while UK suffered its sixth straight losing season.