Petrino takes away positives from difficult defeat versus Auburn
September 07, 2015 | Football
Cards to host Houston in the 2015 home opener
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LOUISVILLE, Ky.- It's hard to find good things in a defeat, but University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino took away some positives from his team's 31-24 defeat versus No. 6 Auburn in the Georgia Dome on Saturday.
Petrino isn't one to find silver linings in a loss. He is a winner and takes defeat harder than most people, but he liked the competiveness of his young team to fight back when things weren''t going their way.
"I thought we played hard, we need to take care of the ball. We did a lot of good things," Petrino said. "I'm encouraged by our leadership. They showed their competitive spirit.
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One positive was the play of true freshmen quarterback Lamar Jackson, who stepped in and provided a spark in the second half with the Cardinals trailing 24-0.
The product of Pompano Beach, Fla., rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown and passed for 100 yards against an aggressive Auburn defense.
"He really gave us a lift," Petrino said. "We had four series in the second half. We got three touchdowns and a field goal. He made a lot of big plays, some of them with his legs, some of them with his arm. He showed great competitiveness."
Jackson and the offense scored on four-straight possessions in the second half, when running back Brandon Radcliff scored twice and Jackson added another to bring life to the sideline during the comeback.
"Guys were excited," Petrino said. They kept saying that they needed to get back in there. We need to score quickly. So there was a lot of positive energy, a lot of positive talk on the sideline when you're behind. And sometimes you don't have that."
One player who was equally impressed with the play of the true freshman was his classmate and roommate Jaylen Smith, who caught three passes for 34 yards in his first collegiate action.
"Lamar is one of the most exciting quarterbacks in college football," Smith said. "He has such a strong arm and can easy throw it 85 yards. It was exciting watching him out there and catching some of his passes.
Smith, a former three-star recruit, was one of seven true freshmen to see action on Saturday, which was kind of surreal for the native of Mississippi.
"One day you come in not ranked high - just a receiver out of Mississippi - and you expect to get a little playing time here and there," Smith said. "But to be starting my first game, that was pretty incredlble."
The Cardinals hope returning home to a sell-out crowd on Saturday in the home opener versus Houston will provide a better feeling then when they left it all on the field last Saturday.
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