Jackson rescues No. 5 Louisville at Virginia, 32-25

He moved the Cardinals down the field, and his 29-yard touchdown pass was enough to save his team’s College Football Playoff hopes.

Even in their pain, UVa fans can appreciate the brilliance that is Lamar Jackson.

(AP Photo/Ryan M. Kelly). It’s the sixth time in eight games this season that he’s had over 400 yards of total offense.

By HANK KURZ Jr. The coaching staff made a decision to go for the two-point conversion, and it paid dividends, as senior running back Albert Reid hauled a pass into the end zone to give the Cavaliers a 25-24 advantage.

“Everything“, Jackson said. “Our whole season”.

“We knew it was win or go home”, Jackson said. Highlighted by an interception by Jaire Alexander that set-up the Cardinals third touchdown of the afternoon, Louisville responded with 17 unanswered points and held its first lead, 24-17, midway through the fourth quarter. The Virginia defender was in good position, but the only person who could have caught the ball was Smith. From there, a quick-strike touchdown brought Virginia within an extra point of a tie game and a potential overtime situation. Lamar Jackson threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns in 20 of 34 passes. The sophomore began the final drive with an 18-yard run.

His other TD tosses covered 15 yards to Jamari Staples, and 8 and 10 yards to Reggie Bonnafon. The fact that Petrino would let Jackson throw that ball when all the Cardinals needed was a field goal to win tells you all you need to know about the confidence everybody on that team has in Jackson. Not to mention a touchdown pass to Dowling and a two-point conversion throw to Albert Reid. Today’s loss dropped the Spartans to the six-loss mark, meaning they are just one loss away from being ineligible for postseason play under NCAA rules.

The Blue Devils and Cavaliers are not a sleeper teams you just haven’t been following, they’re legitimately bad teams you shouldn’t watch unless they’re playing your favorite squad or a top-5 opponent.

Linebacker Micah Kiser recovered a fumble to give Virginia possession at the Lousiville 28 with 1:50 left in the quarter. Obviously, Louisville would need Clemson to lose twice to get to Orlando, but winning in Charlottesville at least keeps in the Cardinals in the Atlantic race.

Louisville: No style points for the Cardinals, but having Jackson makes up for a lot of problems. Benkert’s first down pass was intercepted by Jaire Alexander and returned 25 yards to the Virginia 12.

Virginia had just converted a two-point conversion of its own to take the lead, and Louisville appeared to be in trouble, but Jackson is the best player in the country for a reason. The last ranked team that Louisville faced was Clemson on October 1, and with a remaining schedule of Boston College, Wake Forest, Houston and Kentucky, that’s not likely to change.

Virginia: The Cavaliers go on the road for the first time in more than a month to face surprising Wake Forest.