By Sam Draut–
Louisville went into the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game against sixth-ranked Auburn with question marks across the board, but after the 31-24 loss in Atlanta, Georgia, at least one issue has been resolved.
After falling behind 17-0 in the first half, freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson led a feverish comeback that fell short.
The summer storyline was defined by the four man quarterback competition, but it was Reggie Bonnafon that trotted out with the first team on Saturday afternoon.
It started tumultuously for the Cardinals, though. On the opening play from scrimmage, Jackson took a direct snap and was flushed out of the pocket. The freshman threw the ball downfield into triple coverage, and Auburn safety Tray Matthews intercepted the pass and returned it to the 26-yard line. Five plays later, Auburn was in the end zone with a 7-0 lead.
Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino said the Cardinals had practiced the opening play over the past week, but it didn’t go as planned.
“Reggie was going to go in motion, and the center is supposed to wait for the signal from Lamar to snap the ball, and we snapped it a little bit early,” Petrino said. “That’s when as a young quarterback you just have to have poise and run and run out of bounds or get a couple yards and get out of bounds. He threw it up in the air and they got the interception.”
After Auburn took a 7-0 lead, Bonnafon marched the Cardinal offense down to the 6-yard line, completing four of six passes for 46 yards, but two false starts stalled the drive. Then, kicker John Wallace missed a 36-yard field goal.
Playing his first game in a Louisville uniform, safety Josh Harvey-Clemons hauled in two first half interceptions to set a Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game record, but the Cardinals were unable to convert the turnovers into points.
“Both times it was just a matter of reading the quarterback. On the second one, I saw a play action trick play coming and got there in time,” Harvey-Clemons said. “It was just great to be out there in this atmosphere.”
The junior finished with a game high 14 tackles to go along with his two interceptions.
Auburn went up 14-0 after Tiger linebacker Justin Garrett returned a fumble by Bonnafon for an 82-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter.
The Tigers tacked on another three points at the end of the first half with a 56-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson.
Jackson replaced Bonnafon after the fumble in the second quarter, but he didn’t get going until the second half. Once the freshman from Boynton Beach, Florida got going, Louisville’s question mark at quarterback disappeared.
Trailing 24-0, Jackson sparked a comeback. With just under three minutes left to play, he led four scoring drives to pull Louisville within seven points.
“He is a great player,” linebacker Keith Kelsey said. “He is very athletic, and we knew he was going to perform well.”
Leading 31-24, Auburn recovered Louisville’s onside attempt and burned out the final 2:58 minutes of the game.
“We were working to try to stop them on third down and call timeout and force them to have to punt the ball, and then when they got the first down but had a holding penalty, we had no choice but to call the time out, and they ran the clock out,” Petrino said.
Jackson completed 9 of 20 passes for 100 yards, but he used his feet as his most potent weapon. He ran for 106 yards and a touchdown.
“We knew we were going to play him, and he did compete extremely hard out there,” Petrino said. “I thought he gave us the best opportunity to get back in the game and find a way to win.”
Jackon, along with Brandon Radcliff, combined for a lethal read-option that brought the Cardinals back into the game. Radcliff finished with 76 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
But the early mistakes were too much for the Cardinals to overcome, and the final rally fell short in front of the 73,927 attendees at the Georgia Dome.
The Cardinals out-gained the Tigers on the ground and in the air. Louisville’s total offense combined for 405 yards compared to Auburn’s 327 yards. Additionally, the Cardinals picked up six more first downs than the Tigers.
Starting his collegiate career with an interception, but ending his first game with a strong comeback that ran out of time, Jackson is ready to keep improving.
“It’s not going to take me out of the game,” Jackson said. “It is just going to make me practice harder.”
Despite leaving Atlanta with a loss, Louisville has a better understanding of the quarterback position with the emergence of Jackson.
“We started slow but we fought hard to come back in the end. That is the positive from tonight that we kept fight,” Harvey-Clemons said. “They didn’t beat us because we were tired. We just made too many mistakes, and now it’s time to go back to work.”
Louisville will host Houston this Saturday at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
