15 best college football moments of 2016
12. Lamar Jackson shreds the Seminoles
Every Heisman Trophy winner needs a signature moment that stands out in the nation’s mind come voting time. Jackson’s came in the first half of a game against Florida State on September 17 in one of his most impressive performances of the season.
Prior to the season, Jackson was thought of as a promising yet raw sophomore quarterback who would be at least one of the most entertaining players in the nation to watch. Jackson proved himself to be much more than that early on with an unreal 13 touchdowns in the first two games of the season.
Those contests were against overmatched teams in Charlotte and Syracuse, so Jackson wasn’t quite fully in the public eye yet. That promised to change in a matchup against No. 2 Florida State with College GameDay in town.
Ten minutes into the game, Jackson had already added another two touchdowns to his total, and Louisville went on to build a 35-10 lead at the half. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Jackson made Seminoles defenders look silly on a 47-yard touchdown run to cap off a 63-20 annihilation.
Jackson finished the game with 362 total yards and five touchdowns. From that moment on, there was little doubt Jackson would win the Heisman Trophy, and the blowout victory put Louisville in playoff contention until the final weeks of the season.