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The Louisville Cardinals must keep their foot on the gas as they head into a trap game against Marshall.
September 24, 2016The Louisville Cardinals must keep their foot on the gas as they head into a trap game against Marshall.
Louisville walked all over Florida State in a rout last week, garnering love from the media. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is now everyone’s Heisman Trophy frontrunner, and the Cardinals have rarely been in a spot as bright as this.
Now, Louisville must avoid getting too caught up in the hype, especially as it plays on the road against Marshall on Saturday. Could Bobby Petrino’s team be looking ahead to the following week’s big matchup against Clemson instead of focusing on the Herd?
“It’s certainly possible,” CBS College Football Analyst Rick Neuheisel told Campus Insiders. “Anytime you go on the road as a big name opponent and go into Huntington, West Virginia, you’re going into a little bit of a hornet’s nest if you’re not careful.”
Careful didn’t seem to be in Louisville’s vocabulary last Saturday, as they waltzed to a 63-20 win in the Derby City against the visiting Seminoles. The game was never close, as Jackson slashed through the Florida State defense like a Ginsu knife cutting a carrot in those old commercials.
The Marshall defense is sitting bait for Petrino’s offense after giving up 65 points to Akron just last week. Ignore the distractions, and Neuheisel sees the Cardinals going into Death Valley next week 4-0 after avoiding the classic trap game.
“The way Lamar Jackson has been playing and given the way Marshall played last game on defense, you don’t see [an upset] happening, but stranger things have happened, especially when the obligations start to mount media-wise for the Louisville program, and in particular Lamar Jackson.”
Jackson has taken the college football world by the collar and rung it dry with quarterback play that reminds some of Michael Vick, including the former Virginia Tech quarterback himself. Petrino is a veteran coach, though, and knows the highs and lows of the game, but even he can’t keep his quarterback unaware of the talk.
“I know they are doing a great job of keeping him shielded from that, but it is the world of social media and guys looking at their phone every other five seconds,” said Neuheisel. “It is hard not to pay attention to all the noise.”
Come through this week with a win, and the attention will reach an all-time high as Louisville gets ready to battle Clemson in Death Valley. Are the Cardinals ready for it? We will soon find out.