ACC Football: 5 storylines to follow during Week 4 action

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4. Can Louisville support Lamar Jackson?

In coaching, we talk about whether a guy can or can’t “get theirs” in a tough game. Getting theirs refers to their stats. For instance, Lamar Jackson usually throws for 300 and three touchdowns against a typical opponent.

What did Jackson do versus Clemson? He got his, throwing for 317 yards and three touchdowns with only one interception against the country’s nastiest defense. The Tigers’ defense is ranked thirdoverall in the S&P+ and has reloaded from their national title team of a year ago.

Now, the rest of the Cardinals need to support Lamar Jackson. He has thrown for 1,088 yards already and has an 8-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The Florida-native has pushed the Cardinals to 2-1, holding off the fast-rising Purdue Boilermakers and their ACC foe in the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Cards are 20th in the S&P+ including being 12th in overall offense but there’s not much else to the offense as Jackson leads the team in rushing as well with 303 yards and three touchdowns.

Louisville has one of the lighter schedules left with a tough road game at NC State and hosting the Florida State Seminoles but they have the luxury of facing Kent State, Boston College, Virginia and Syracuse before its annual matchup with Kentucky.

Someone will have to step up for Louisville in order to keep Jackson healthy and take pressure off the struggling defense. If the defense can pick up its end of the bargain, Louisville could make a decent bowl and build on their way to Jackson’s senior season — if he comes back.

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