 in College Football Playoff picture, and couldn't have hurt the Heisman Trophy frontrunner's candidacy. Virginia (2-6, 1-3) had scored with 1:57 remaining and used a 2-point conversion to take a 25-24 lead. Jackson did not have one of his best days, getting sacked five times and turning the ball over twice, but on the final drive, he ran for 18 yards, hit Cole Hikutini in traffic for 5 yards on fourth-and-3 and ran twice more for 16 yards before hitting Smith in the end zone with a perfectly placed pass over tight coverage by Juan Thornhill. The Cavaliers had driven 75 yards in 14 plays, getting a 30-yard pass from Kurt Benkert to Keeon Johnson on fourth-and-7 to put the ball at the Cardinals 4. A TD throw to Doni Dowling on the next play and then Benkert's 2-point conversion pass to Albert Reid to put the Cavaliers ahead by a point with 1:57 leftTHE TAKEAWAYLouisville: No style points for the Cardinals, but having Jackson makes up for a lot of problems. Penalties and dropped passes were a nuisance in the first half. Virginia: Coaches never admit to appreciating moral victories, but in a season of change under Bronco Mendenhall his players had to love the confidence shown in them by going for 2 in the final minutes. UP NEXT:Louisville: The Cardinals travel North for its final conference road game of the season against Boston College. Virginia: The Cavaliers go on the road for the first time in more than a month to face surprising Wake Forest.---The AP's college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr)
After a loss to Clemson and a close call against Duke, Louisville may have got what it needed to enhance its postseason hopes in a 54-13 rout of North Carolina State last week. Now the No. 5 Cardinals hope to keep their momentum going when they visit Virginia on Saturday (noon ET, ABC/ESPN2) at Scott Field in Charlottesville, Va." Back on the road, we have to do a good job in practice this week, got to do a good job traveling, and get up and play another noon game," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "I think our players will be excited about it." The Cardinals (6-1, 4-1 ACC) could wake up Sunday morning in a first-place tie in the ACC's Atlantic Division depending on how undefeated Clemson fares against Florida State that night, though the Cardinals still are at a disadvantage in the tiebreaker because of their loss to the Tigers. But more than getting a spot in the conference championship game, the Cardinals also are hoping impressive wins will get them consideration for one of the four spots in the College Football Playoffs. That's not necessarily a hot topic with Petrino, however." I think it takes care of itself," he said. "I don't think anyone's going to care what I have to say whether we're going to get in the playoffs or not. Let's go out on the field and let's try to perform very well and show the world that we're a good football team and hopefully that will all take care of itself the right way." Like said before, last week I think, there's a lot of football to be played out there. There's still a lot of things come up, there's going to upsets, and we'll see where we're at." Nevertheless, the big win over the Wolfpack was a much-needed tonic. Quarterback Lamar Jackson continued his Heisman Trophy quest with another big game, with 355 passing yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 76 yards and another score against N. C. State. Senior tight end Cole Hikutini had a nice game as well with six catches for a career-high 118 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, junior linebacker Stacy Thomas emerged as a playmaker with two tackles for loss and his first career interception. With all the attention given to Jackson and the Cardinals' scoring punch, it's easy to overlook that they are the only team in the country ranked in the top 10 in total offense and total defense." I like the way our front guys are playing -- besides defeating blocks, we're able to make tackles and get production," Petrino said. "A lot of times as a defensive lineman it's hard to get that kind of production." Defensive end Drew Bailey has 30 tackles with 5.5 for losses and tackle DeAngelo Brown has 20 with 4.5 for losses in leading Louisville's three-man defensive front. Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall credited Louisville defensive coordinator Todd Grantham for building that success." When you have a combination of good coaches and good talent, that ends up having a lot of success and that's over the years, Louisville has done that," Mendenhall said. "They have added good football coaches, and they have recruited very good talent to fit their schemes and vice versa." Mendenhall's Cavaliers (2-5, 1-2) seemed to be getting their act together after losing two of their first three games, but after posting victories over Central Michigan and Duke, they have lost to Pittsburgh and North Carolina their last two outings. Quarterback Kurt Benkert, a transfer from East Carolina, struggled in those two outings, passing for 126 yards against the Tar Heels and completing 20 of 44 passes against Pitt for 278 yards after throwing for 757 yards in the two wins." I think his development and his production has been on track to this point," Mendenhall said. "And now that we're playing better, better and better teams, his execution, his performance is having to climb at a more immediate pace, and that's only realistic if he's prepared for that." And so we've seen a few teams, we've seen some looks, he's beat up a little bit and that's impacted his kind of poise and patience in the pocket just a hair."
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