Louisville Football: 5 Intriguing Lamar Jackson Stats From 2016

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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We take a look at five intriguing stats from Louisville football’s quarterback Lamar Jackson in his sophomore season as a Cardinal.

This has been an extremely special season for the Louisville football team and Lamar Jackson. It looks as though he is the front-funner for the Heisman Trophy, while also leading many other player of the year awards as well.

He has been dominating defenses all season long, but he is just getting his NCAA career started.

As only a sophomore, Jackson is about to break every major rushing record ever established at the University of Louisville. If that wasn’t enough, he will probably take down some NCAA record as well before his Louisville career is over.

With that being said, take a look at five intriguing stats from Jackson’s sophomore season.

Nov 26, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half at Papa John

5. ACC’s Best Rusher In The First Half Of Each Game

1st Half: 131 Attempts, 830 Rushing Yards, and 13 Touchdowns

Every Louisville football fan knows how much Jackson dominated the Cards’ opponents in the first half of each game. It almost became one of the Cardinals’ worst problems of the season. If they didn’t start fast, then the game wouldn’t go as smooth.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that Jackson was the ACC’s best rusher in the first half this season.

Okay, so Dalvin Cook had four more rushing yards in this category than Jackson, but Lamar had five more touchdowns than Cook. Therefore, we decided to go ahead and give the nod to the potential Heisman Trophy winner.

When the Cardinals start fast with the ground game, then that usually means everything else will fall into place.

I cannot wait to see if Louisville can get off to a fantastic start against LSU in a couple of weeks.

Nov 12, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) tries to avoid the tackle of Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Jessie Bates (3) during the second half at Papa John

4. Led The ACC in Rushing Touchdowns On 1st down

1st Down: 118 Attempts, 835 Rushing Yards, and 14 Touchdowns

Dalvin Cook led the conference with 930 rushing yards on first down, but Jackson led the ACC in rushing touchdowns on first down with 14. Out of Lamar Jackson’s 21 total rushing touchdowns this season, 14 of them came when the Cards were in a “1st and something” situation.

That’s actually pretty remarkable if you ask me. This meant that defenses were caught off guard at least 14 times when the Cardinals were driving the football downfield.

Whether those came off of big plays, red-zone touches, or another situation, Lamar Jackson was the king of the ACC conference on first down.

Take that Florida State.

Oct 29, 2016; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws the ball as Virginia Cavaliers linebacker Chris Peace (13) chases in the first quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

3. 10th In The ACC In Passing Yards On 3rd Down

3rd Down: 619 Passing Yards, 7 Touchdowns, and 3 Interceptions

Unfortunately, this is one category that Jackson did not excel in this season. However, I cannot even count how many dropped passes that came on third down and in games that the Cards were being tested to the final minutes.

Of course, Mr. Deshaun Watson leads this category, but it’s not Jackson’s fault that Watson cannot run like he can.

Lamar Jackson actually led the entire conference in rushing yards on third down with 286 and rushing touchdowns on third down with five.

Even though Jackson slipped in the passing category, he was able to be even more clutch using his legs to pick up the needed yards on third down this year.

Sep 17, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball against the Florida State Seminoles during the second quarter at Papa John

2. 5th In The ACC In Total Yards Versus Ranked Opponents

Vs. Ranked Opponents: 308 Rushing Yards and 511 Passing Yards

Here we go. This is the discussion and argument that will shut down every Clemson football fan on the planet.

Lamar Jackson was fifth in the conference in total yards in games against ranked opponents. However, among the top five, did you know that Jackson played against the least amount of ranked teams?

That’s right, Deshaun Watson, who led the ACC, played one more game than Jackson (ACC Championship) and played three more ranked opponents in 2016.

Watson had a total of 276 plays against these teams, while Jackson only had a total of 112.

Not to mention, Lamar Jackson was second in the conference in total yards per game against such teams with 409.5.

But please, tell me again how much Watson is better than Jackson.

Sep 24, 2016; Huntington, WV, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws a pass for a touchdown to wide receiver James Quick (not pictured) against the Marshall Thundering Herd in the first half at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

1. Worst In The ACC In Interceptions Thrown On 1st Down

This is the category that Lamar Jackson may have to improve in the most. Typically with a young quarterback, they have trouble forcing passes into coverage on third down. However, Mr. Jackson was actually shooting himself in the foot way before that.

Jackson led all ACC quarterbacks in interceptions thrown on 1st down with five. Not to mention, he threw three on 3rd down and one on second down.

As well as Louisville’s offense functioned this year, it’s apparent that Jackson has some maturing to do in this area.

He needs to continue to learn to take what’s in front of him and not get caught up into going for the big play.

There were many times against Kentucky where he opted to not check the ball down, which cost the Cards a few drives and maybe even the football game.

But hey, not everyone can be perfect. Not even the future Heisman Trophy winner.