Louisville Football: Lamar Jackson deserves Heisman consideration

1. What is Louisville without Lamar Jackson?

As a general rule, Heisman Trophies aren’t given to players on bad teams. There is only one player to win the Heisman that played for a team with a losing record. Paul Hornung accomplished that feat on a 2-8 Notre Dame team in 1956. College football has changed a lot since that time and so has the Heisman Trophy. It’s as much of a popularity contest as it is a merit-based award.

Louisville has four losses, not eight. What would that number look like without No. 8 on the field? It’s taken yet another tremendous season from Jackson for the Cardinals to limp to bowl eligibility let alone the possibility of an eight win season, nine with a bowl victory.

Jackson is an incredible talent, but he doesn’t play defense. The Cardinal have scored three touchdowns in every single game this season, but their defense has allowed at least three touchdowns in every game against a Power-5 opponent. That leaves Jackson to cover any remaining margin. Boston College put up 45 points, NC State scored 39 and Wake Forest scored 42.

It’s hard not to hold the poor performance of his team against him, but the Heisman Trophy is an award for college football’s best player. The award for the best team gets handed out to the College Football Playoff champion.