Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Louisville gets first win of the season with decisive victory over Samford

Louisville finally got its first win of the season, easily beating Samford 45-3 on Saturday behind a record-setting night from quarterback Lamar Jackson. Here is how it went down:

Player of the game: Jackson. The true freshman got the start and played with much more consistency. It is tough to put too much stock in this game because Samford was so overmatched, but he needed to have success to build some confidence after a tough 0-3 start. Jackson set the single-game school rushing record for a quarterback with 184 yards and two touchdowns, breaking the old mark of 162 set by Jim Wagoner against Drake in 1974. In all, Jackson had 396 total yards and three scores. Still, Bobby Petrino did show different looks with both Jackson and Reggie Bonnafon on the field together. Bonnafon threw six passes, had six runs and caught one pass.

Stat of the game: 12. That's how many different receivers caught at least one pass for Louisville, allowing the Cardinals to spread the ball around and get many players involved.

What the win means for Louisville: The Cardinals avoided their first 0-4 start since 1975. Otherwise, it is hard to take away too much from a game in which Louisville was such a heavy favorite. Winning, no matter the opponent, is always good and should at least give the Cards a bounce in their step headed into NC State in Week 5, a game that has taken on huge proportions considering their slow start. Jackson looked more comfortable. In his situation the more reps, the better because he needs all the experience he can get as the heart of ACC play is set to begin. Getting James Quick back after he missed the last few games with a sprained ankle was big, too. He had a touchdown catch.

What the loss means for Samford: The Bulldogs have dropped two straight, but they were to really good opponents (No. 9 FCS Chattanooga and FBS Louisville). They had four turnovers against the Cardinals, and that is something they will want to fix up once they get back to FCS play. Coach Chris Hatcher ended up playing both his quarterbacks, in part because of the miscues, so perhaps he will have a choice to make between Devlin Hodges and Michael Eubank moving forward.

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