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5 reasons the Louisville Cardinals can win the ACC Atlantic division

By Geoffrey Knox

Sep 17, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) hands the ball off to running back Brandon Radcliff (23) during the first quarter against the Florida State Seminoles at Papa John
Sep 17, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) hands the ball off to running back Brandon Radcliff (23) during the first quarter against the Florida State Seminoles at Papa John /
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Sep 17, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) looks to pass against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half at Papa John
Sep 17, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) looks to pass against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half at Papa John /

1. Lamar Jackson is a legitimate candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

Against the Seminoles, Jackson went for 216 yards on 13-20 passing and finished with a 95.2 quarterback rating. He also led the Cardinals in rushing as he finished with 47 yards and four touchdowns.

For the season, Jackson’s racked up 18 total touchdowns, thrown for 913 yards and run for an additional 464 yards on the ground. The Cardinals stand at a perfect 3-0 on the season and have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 195-62. What’s scarier is it doesn’t even appear that they’ve hit their stride yet.

Next: Mike Vick: Lamar Jackson better than I was

The Heisman Trophy has been criticized for regional biases and for the fact that players from the south win the award far too often. Those detractors won’t like this one, but there are officially two quarterbacks from a southern football conference in the running. On October 1st, Louisville travels to “Death Valley” for what’s become a very interesting contest with Clemson. The result could go a long way in deciding not only who the superior team in the Atlantic division is but who’s in the driver’s seat for which team’s quarterback gets invited to New York when January rolls around.

It’s official. Louisville isn’t just a “basketball school” anymore.

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