Louisville football survived a slow start to take down North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals win over the Tar Heels on Saturday.
UNC linebacker Andre Smith offered a bold proclamation in the lead-up to Saturday’s game against No. 17 Louisville. Speaking about Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson, Smith pronounced, “He’s not going to beat us. We’re just going to stop anything that he tries to do.”
It was quite a confident statement from a player whose defense gave up 35 at home in Week 1 to lose to California. But it also looked like Smith and the Tar Heels defense was going to hold up its end of the bargain for much of the first half on Saturday. North Carolina stalled two early Cardinals drives, forcing them to settle for Blanton Creque field goals.
But stopping Jackson for an entire game is never an easy proposition. By halftime, the defending Heisman Trophy winner had already thrown for 259 yards and two touchdowns. The quarterback had also racked up 47 rushing yards to go over 300 yards of offense in just the first two quarters.
In the end, Louisville clamped down in the second half. North Carolina lost its starting quarterback early in the third quarter, Smith was shaken up on a defensive play, and it was all downhill from there in Chapel Hill. Here are three things we learned on Saturday from the Louisville’s 47-35 win over the Tar Heels in the ACC opener for both schools.