By Matt Bradshaw–

Quick highlights of Louisville’s home-opener: U of L scores in under three minutes, ties the record for most first quarter points in school history and Lamar Jackson scores eight touchdowns.

The 70-14 blowout of the Charlotte 49ers was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage for the Cardinals.

“I was very happy with how we played,” said coach Bobby Petrino in the post-game conference. “We showed how we’re a mature team, we took care of business before the game, and we were great in the locker room. This allowed us to get a lot of guys in the game and get in some experience.”

Over 53,000 fans packed Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to watch the much anticipated 2016 season get kicked off. Jackson led off the game with an impressive display of speed and control over his offense. On the first drive alone, Jackson had a combined 74 rushing and passing yards, which included a 36-yard rushing touchdown that led to an early 7-0 lead. Petrino talked about how he felt about his quarterback.

“Lamar ran the ball early, did a great job with his legs, did a good job of reading things, and overall did a really nice job,” said Coach Petrino.

Next, Jackson led another drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Bonnafon, making the score 14-0.

Late into the first quarter, Charlotte had a deep drive into Cardinal territory after a 39 yard pass. However the Louisville defense did not break and caused a fumble. Jackson made quick work of this opportunity, throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Smith to lengthen the lead to 21-0.

Another rushing touchdown from Jackson at the end of the first quarter stretched the Louisville lead to 28-0. This allowed Louisville to tie their school record for most first quarter points in school history.

The Cardinals continued to assert their dominance immediately in the second quarter. Jackson completed a 44-yard pass to Jamari Staples, and a 16-yard pass to Brandon Radcliff that led to a touchdown. The Cardinals had stretched their lead to 35-0 and were far from done.

Near the end of the second half Jackson made a 32-yard pass to James Quick, who made a highlight-reel worthy TD catch to give the Cards a 49-0 lead.

While the offense was producing touchdowns, the defense was hard at work keeping down Charlotte. The score was 56-0 by halftime, and the difference between the two teams’ statistics was substantial.

Louisville had 286 passing yards, while Charlotte had 62. Louisville had 176 rushing yards (119 of which were Jackson’s), while Charlotte had 30. The Cardinal defense also held Charlotte to 0-for-7 in third-down conversions, and did not allow them any red-zone scoring-chances.

“We played physical on the defense tonight. We tackled well, and we didn’t give them much room at all to pass or run,” Petrino said.

Petrino put in Kyle Bolin to run the run in the second half. In the third quarter, Bolin passed for 56 yards and a touchdown. Charlotte also finally managed to get on the scoreboard with a 24-yard touchdown pass, making the score 63-7.

In the fourth quarter, Bolin completed a 13 yard TD pass to Dawkins to make it a 70-7 game. Petrino then made another QB change and subbed in Ethan Orton. With four minutes left in the quarter, Charlotte scored another touchdown which ended up being the last score of the game. The final was 70-14 with Louisville getting the win.

The blowout did not phase Coach Petrino though, and he knows it is only the first game in a long and arduous season.

“We have a ways to go, and we still have to get better,” said Petrino.

Now Louisville sets their sights on Syracuse, they travel to the Orange next Saturday.

Photo by Laurel Slaughter / The Louisville Cardinal