If you weren't familiar with Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, he made quite the introduction in the Music City Bowl.
Jackson was the virtual definition of the dual-threat quarterback in Louisville's 27-21 win over Texas A&M. He passed for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 226 yards with another two touchdowns. While he completed only 12 of his 26 passes, he made the completions count, as they averaged nearly 19 yards, and he picked up 10.3 yards every time he took off running.
While Louisville came in to the 2015 season with questions at quarterback, Jackson did everything in his power to make sure the job is his to start 2016.
And speaking of odd quarterback situations in 2016, if this game was an audition for Jake Hubenak to seize the starting job in College Station following the transfers of Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray, he did not take full advantage. Hubenak completed 28 of 48 passes for 307 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Story of the Game: It was somewhat odd, because throughout the game you never really felt like A&M was in it, but the Aggies definitely were. A touchdown late in the fourth quarter made it a one-score game with less than five minutes to go, and after a Louisville punt, the Aggies got the ball back with a chance to win the game.
They just couldn't.
They had chances, and dropped some passes, while getting the benefit of some calls and being on the wrong end of others. In the end a deep ball into the end zone on fourth down fell harmlessly to the turf, effectively ending the game.
Player of the Game: It's Lamar Jackson. It can't be anybody else, though A&M's Josh Reynolds deserves some love for his 11 receptions for 177 yards. There was also Louisville defensive end Devonte Fields, who finished with three sacks and two pass breakups.
Highlight of the Game: Lamar Jackson made a lot of spectacular plays, none better than this 61-yard touchdown run.
Lamar Jackson's 61yd TD run. #MusicCityBowl pic.twitter.com/Y5FyPYwqjx
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 31, 2015
Tweet of the Game: It was a disappointing season for Texas A&M, and a rough few weeks as of late, but it's nice to see that there are still some Aggies fans out there who can laugh about it.
A&M players will announce their transfers throughout the game like the high school all star games.
— cuppy of good cheer (@cuppycup) December 31, 2015
Grade: It was a good enough game that featured exciting plays, and the outcome was in doubt until the final minutes of the game. It's just, it wasn't the sharpest game either, so while I can't give it an A, I'm willing to award a solid B+.
