LOUISVILLE, KY – SEPTEMBER 01: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals runs the ball during the game against the Charlotte 49ers at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium on September 1, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Charlotte 70-14. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
NCAABy Michael Grant on

The national sports spotlight usually shines on Louisville only for that horse race or during college basketball season. For football to grab the attention, something special has to happen. But Mr. Special has arrived and his name is Lamar Jackson.

Although not a traditional football power, the Cardinals have some pretty good quarterback alums. Teddy Bridgewater — for reasons on and off the field — might be the most beloved football player in modern Louisville history. Johnny Unitas is the greatest professional football player the program has ever produced. But there has never been anything quite like Jackson, who will lead No. 10 Louisville (2-0) against No. 2 Florida State (2-0) on Saturday.

This game has generated so much buzz that ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Louisville. USA Today called Jackson the current Heisman Trophy frontrunner. But three Heisman hopefuls will be on the field Saturday: Jackson and Florida State’s duo of tailback Dalvin Cook and quarterback Deondre Francois.

The matchup between Top 10 teams has become a spectacle. Louisville will honor its favorite son — Muhammad Ali — during the game and wear special helmet stickers. The Cardinals will also wear special red chrome helmets.

In terms of rankings, this is the biggest game Louisville has played since November 2006 when the fifth-ranked Cardinals defeated visiting No. 3 West Virginia 44-34. That victory put Louisville at No. 3 in the BCS standings. However, the championship game dream ended the following week with a loss at No.12 Rutgers.

The coach who brought Louisville to the precipice 10 years ago was Bobby Petrino. The coach who is trying to bring the program back to that point a decade later: Bobby Petrino. But this time, he has a weapon with nuclear capabilities.

Historically, most of Louisville’s top QBs have been traditional dropback passers: Bridgewater, Unitas, Brian Brohm, Chris Redman, Stefan LeFors, etc. Never has the program had one who is arguably the best athlete on the field. Good lord, Jackson looks like the second coming of Michael Vick.

Visit YouTube and type in Lamar Jackson. The first suggestion from the website is “Lamar Jackson hurdle.”

Two games into the season, Jackson is already responsible for 13 touchdowns for the nation’s highest scoring team (66 points per game) and most unstoppable offense (754 yards per game). Jackson alone accounted for an Atlantic Coast Conference record 610 total yards at Syracuse.

How many players are capable of passing for 400 yards and rushing for 175-plus more? Jackson did both (414, 199) last week to set an FBS record and he’s only a sophomore.

When Petrino left Louisville after the 2006 season for the Atlanta Falcons job, he did so believing he would coach the ultra-talented Vick. But because of Vick’s criminal involvement in dog-fighting, that never happened. In 2007, Petrino resigned in mid-season and returned to college for the Arkansas job.

Funny how life works. Petrino 2.0 might be coaching Vick 2.0.

“He’s doing a great job,” Petrino said. “I’m excited about how well he’s throwing the football. And we’ve been able to get the deep ball back in our offense, which has really helped us.”

Jackson displayed sprinter’s speed as a freshman. It’s his evolution as a passer that has made him a dual threat. His completion percentage is 59.7 – up from 54.7 last year. What must be scary for Florida State is that last year, Jackson passed for then a career-best 307 yards and three touchdowns in Tallahassee.

“In my opinion, he’s the fastest quarterback I’ve ever played against. Even at ACC media day, I told him, ‘Don’t do all that scrambling,'” Florida State defensive end DeMarcus Walker told the Associated Press’ Joe Reedy. “His throwing motion has gotten better since we faced him. I can see he’s worked on that. For us, preparation is going to be key.”

As fantastic as Jackson has been, this will be a true gauge of how far he and the program have come.

When Petrino returned to Louisville, many expected the Cardinals to quickly return to their high-scoring ways. In his first stint (2003-06), the Cardinals averaged over 34.0 points per game in all four years, including a best of 49.8 points per game in 2004. In 2014 and 2015, Louisville didn’t rank in the nation’s top 50 in scoring in either year.

It’s hard to score when you have inconsistent quarterback play. Petrino’s predecessor, Charlie Strong, leaving for Texas coincided with Bridgewater graduating.

In the first two seasons of his second stint, Petrino started Will Gardner, Reggie Bonnafon, Kyle Bolin and Jackson with mixed results. In the first three weeks of last year, he started three different quarterbacks. Louisville started 0-3 against a brutal schedule (Auburn, Houston, Clemson).

Once Petrino handed the keys of the offense over to Jackson, however, the Cardinals have been a different team: 10-2 over the past 12 games with losses against Florida State and Pittsburgh.

Jackson’s dominance is impressive. But to solidify his status as Heisman contender and Louisville as a national championship contender, he’s going to have to beat Florida State. The Cardinals are 2-14 lifetime against the Seminoles, but there was that memorable 2002 victory in the rain. Louisville stunned then No. 4 Florida State 26-20 in overtime.

The forecast calls for scattered showers on Saturday. Jackson, Petrino and Louisville fans will take all the good omens they can get.

Florida State-Louisville connection: ESPN analyst Lee Corso played football at Florida State and was a head coach at Louisville. Also, Louisville native and gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson attended Florida State.

Tale of the Tape

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About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant, Anthony Grant, Amy Grant or Hugh Grant.

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