Thanks for playing, Louisville.
The Cardinals probably still have the eventual Heisman Trophy winner in Lamar Jackson, but their chances of winning the College Football Playoff likely went up in smoke Thursday night.
Louisville, which had received a bump to the No. 5 spot after losses by Michigan, Clemson and Washington over the weekend, will take a dip in the next rankings after a stunning 36-10 defeat at unranked Houston.
Now, the Cougars are a good team despite being unranked. They beat then-No. 3 Oklahoma in Week 1, and they started the season 5-0 before losing two of their next three games. But they made it look easy against a CFP hopeful.
Houston got out to a 31-0 lead before halftime, and it only took 11 seconds into the game to score its first touchdown. Louisville tried to mount a comeback with 10 straight points, but it was far too late to do any real damage.
Cougars quarterback Greg Ward Jr. completed 25 of 44 passes for 233 yards with two touchdowns to lead the way offensively for the home team. Jackson, meanwhile, was forced to be one dimensional with Houston holding him to 33 yards on the ground. He did complete 20 of 43 passes for 211 yards with a touchdown.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
