Texas A&M Aggies vs Louisville Cardinals Match Player Stats On Dec 30, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Dec 30, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Louisville freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson authored a record-setting performance in the Music City Bowl.

Breaking Marion Barber's 11-year-old bowl record with 226 rushing yards on 22 attempts, Jackson led the Cardinals to a 27-21 win on Wednesday night over Texas A&M at Nissan Stadium.

Jackson also threw for two touchdowns and 227 yards on 12-of-26 accuracy. His second score, a 17-yard touchdown strike to tight end Keith Towbridge with 3:01 left in the third quarter, provided Louisville (8-5) with a 27-14 lead.

Wide receiver Christian Kirk's 29-yard scoring reception from quarterback Jake Hubenak with 4:54 remaining in the game drew the Aggies (8-5) within six points. But Hubenak threw an incompletion into the end zone between two receivers on fourth-and-9 from the Louisville 25 to end A&M's final drive with 1:39 remaining.

Hubenak, starting after the Aggies' top two quarterbacks -- Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray -- transferred after the end of the regular season, completed 28 of 48 passes for 307 yards. Hubenak threw for two touchdowns and one interception.

Wide receiver Josh Reynolds established bowl records with 11 receptions and 177 yards for the Aggies, and running back Tra Carson collected 106 yards on 20 carries.

Tight end Cole Hikutini had 103 yards on three receptions for the Cardinals, including a 56-yarder on their first possession to set up the first of Jackson's two rushing touchdowns.

Louisville suffered a loss on the game's first play as senior inside linebacker James Burgess was ejected for a targeting penalty on Texas A&M wide receiver Damion Ratley, but the Cardinals put that blow behind them during a dominant first quarter.

Jackson flummoxed the Aggies throughout the quarter with his passing and running, accounting for 191 total yards, including 126 on the ground. He ran for touchdowns of 6 and 61 yards while finding tight end Micky Crum for a 2-yard scoring strike as Louisville grabbed a 20-7 lead.

Hubenak, making his first career start, struggled early but seemed to find traction as the half progressed. He finished with 131 yards in the air, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones to cap a 97-yard drive with 1:51 remaining in the half.

The Aggies' other first half score came off a 9-yard run with 2:25 left in the first quarter by Carson.

NOTES: Texas A&M P Drew Kaser entered Wednesday night's game .01 yards behind Todd Sauerbrun, who punted at West Virginia from 1991 to 1994, for the NCAA FBS career punt average record of 46.31. ... This is Aggies defensive coordinator John Chavis' second straight trip to the Music City Bowl. He served in a similar capacity for LSU's last-play loss to Notre Dame in 2014. ... Louisville OLB Devonte Fields took the FBS lead in tackles for loss with two first-half sacks, giving him 21, one more than Clemson's Shaq Lawson.