University of Louisville
ARMY
Louisville Drops Army, 38-17
November 11, 2000 | Football
Nov. 11, 2000
Jackson Sets NCAA Receiving Mark
By CHRIS DUNCAN
Associated Press Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Arnold Jackson has had bigger days, but few that have ended this perfectly.
With his parents in the stands, Jackson became the NCAA Division I-A career receptions leader in Louisville's 38-17 victory over Army on Saturday.
"I can't wait to get home and celebrate with my folks," Jackson said. "I just wanted to leave it all on the field. I can't wait to get back and watch the highlight tape they made for me."
The 5-foot-8, 185-pound receiver needed seven catches to pass the mark of 298 set by Nevada's Trevor Insley in 1999. The senior set the record on a 6-yard reception from Ragone with 7:50 left in the game. He finished with seven catches for 55 yards.
"I had no idea I'd have this big of a career because I was so small," Jackson said. "I thought I'd be a backup player or something. I guess the coaches saw something in me."
Jackson has deflected attention away from himself all season. The spotlight was squarely on him after the game, but he didn't mind, since the Cardinals (8-2, 5-1 Conference USA) moved within one win of their first league title and an automatic berth in the Liberty Bowl.
Louisville plays at Houston next weekend.
"This will all be over tomorrow," Jackson said. "The record and the hype are behind me. It's all about Houston and the Liberty Bowl now."
Smith has also downplayed Jackson's pursuit all season but grudgingly acknowledged its significance Saturday.
"Thank goodness that's over and it's done," Smith said. "We don't like to talk about individual awards, but that is huge. That record is special."
Dave Ragone threw the record-breaking pass as part of another solid performance. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 290 yards with three touchdowns.
The Cardinals stuck to their season-long pattern of blowing open close games in the third quarter.
Louisville led 14-10 at halftime but held the Black Knights (1-8, 1-5) to minus-11 yards on their first two possessions of the second half.
Ragone hit Zek Parker with a short pass over the middle with 5:25 left in the third quarter and Parker broke two tackles and ran 33 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
The decisive score came two minutes later. After an Army punt to midfield, Ragone found Deion Branch wide open in the end zone for an eventual 28-10 lead.
The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 100-37 in third quarters this season.
Redshirt freshman Nate Smith kicked his first career field goal, a 27-yarder with 11:40 left in the game to give Louisville a 31-10 lead.
Alton McCallum had a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:59 left in the game and Parker caught his second touchdown pass of the game with 4:50 remaining.
Michael Wallace, Conference USA's leading rusher coming into the game, carried 21 times for 82 yards to lead Army. He was held under 100 yards on the ground for the first time in five games by the nation's fourth-best rushing defense (79 yards per game).
"We've got to play perfect football to compete with a team that athletic and we didn't do that," said Army coach Todd Berry.
Ragone went 6-of-7 on Louisville's first possession, connecting with Jackson four times. Tony Stallings gave the Cardinals the early lead on a 9-yard touchdown run with 7:13 left in the first quarter.
The Black Knights chewed up the next 10:32 with a 23-play, 66-yard drive. Army converted three fourth downs on the march and Brendan Mullen cut Louisville's lead to 7-3 on a 31-yard field goal with 11:45 left in the first half.
The Black Knights won time of possession 37:38 to 22:22.
"We felt we could come in and run the football and take what they were giving us, but the whole idea was to score points not to run time off the clock," Berry said. "We played so much ball control for so long, it's like a moral victory and that's not winning."
The teams traded brief possessions after Mullen's field goal before Jackson returned a punt 55 yards to the Black Knights' 26. He made his fifth catch of the day - and the 297th of his career - before Stallings scored his second touchdown on a 5-yard run with 6:44 left in the first half.
Army answered with another long drive, going 56 yards in 13 plays, all on the ground. Quarterback Chad Jenkins scored on an 8-yard run with 1:33 left in the second quarter.
