No. 4: The Ordeal

Lamar Jackson enters the cave

The heroes of comic books and movie franchises, the ones we are accustomed to, appear only where they are needed.

They suffer personal tragedy and become determined to avenge the injustices of Gotham. They arrive on the planet and assume a secret identity while serving as the great protector of their fellow man. They work anonymously, and alone. And in unambiguous battles of good vs. evil, they are always up to the task.

College football’s heroes do not work like that. They’re less Superman, more five Avengers sequels tossed together — sprawling bands of protagonists roving around just showing off their many powers. They’re less early Cleveland LeBron, more LeBron and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

College football is no place for a singular hero. Usually.

Let’s just get this out of the way first: Lamar Jackson’s season thus far (while not even playing full games) has been historically absurd. He has seven passing TDs to go with six rushing TDs. He is the country’s 3rd-leading rusher. He’s 2nd in total offense behind only Patrick Mahomes, maestro of Texas Tech’s bold offense-only strategy.

Jackson’s evisceration of Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl cemented his spot as Louisville’s starter (remember, he hadn’t been a full-time starter up to that point) and showed what he can do to a poor, unsuspecting defense. And the opening games of this season against Charlotte and Syracuse, with basically every offensive starter back in a breakneck Bobby Petrino offense, have been a Lamar Jackson talent show.

He is hurdling over top-level college athletes in a single bound. He is Louisville’s knight in shining armor — bringing a decent program excitement, anticipation and “Dad, I need that guy’s jersey,” moments that it has never before experienced.

It’s why Louisville is suddenly a marquee team with an interesting schedule ahead of it. It’s the singular reason Saturday’s showdown against №2 Florida State went from “potential trap game for a contender” to “College Gameday is at a noon game?”

This is Lamar Jackson’s movie now.

Watching videos of Lamar Jackson running circles around Syracuse is a really good way to convince yourself that he can beat Florida State. It is probably not the best way to actually assess Louisville’s chances in the game, though.

His ultra-bright starring role for Louisville is eye-catching, but it is also likely distracting us from some potentially important flaws of the Louisville team around him — not to mention the lazy plotting of superhero stories.

Any real hero’s journey, unfortunately for Jackson, comes with complications. And against Florida State — a team that, granted, will be without defensive superstar Derwin James and talented lineman Josh Sweat — those complications will be magnified by the latent talent gap that made this game so important in the first place. To take down the giant in front of him, Jackson will have to overcome, or compensate for, at least a few of these issues.

-There is no good reason to believe any other Louisville player can run the ball efficiently.

Lamar Jackson leads the team in rushing attempts — by a lot — even though the Cardinals have faced Charlotte and Syracuse. Top running back Brandon Radcliff, who has just 13 carries this year to Jackson’s 31, has shown bursts of talent, but two of the five good games in his career came against Syracuse. His only other game averaging more than 5 yards per carry against an FBS opponent since the start of 2015 was against Virginia.

A young offensive line struggled to provide opportunities for the backs last season. It boasts more experience now, but it’s unclear whether that will matter going up against one of the strongest defensive fronts in college football.

-Jackson’s passing skills are still very much an open question.

Plenty of college QBs could have torched Syracuse running Petrino’s system. Don’t get me wrong, Jackson’s legs and general athletic ability are a constant advantage that lead to explosiveness in the passing game, but it is almost a given that Florida State will force Louisville into more difficult 2nd and 3rd down situations.

And while the Cardinals are scoring a bajillion points a game — and therefore having lots of success in basically all offensive facets of the game — they have done most of their damage on early downs. On the occasions when Syracuse forced them into more difficult downs and distances — what Bill Connelly at SBNation calls passing downs — the flammability of the offense was taken down several notches. Jackson was 13-for-24 for 340 yards in standard downs, and 6-for-13 for 71 yards in passing downs.

Everybody knows Florida State’s defensive game plan: Make Jackson win the game with his arm. It’s easier said than done, but it will require Jackson to prove himself against the best team he’s ever faced.

-Florida State gets to play offense, too.

Louisville’s defense has been just about as bad at stopping opponents from finishing drives as the opponents have been at stopping Lamar Jackson.

And this is not a new issue. Louisville ranked 101st in the country last year by this measure — allowing 5.05 points per trip their opponents took inside the 40. This year, so far, that number is 5.25 points per trip — ranking 94th in the young season. Florida State’s freshman QB Deondre Francois, meanwhile, ranks 9th in the country in total offense — and that’s including a game against Ole Miss.

Additionally, Florida State will almost certainly dominate the field position battle. They are among the top-rated special team units in the country, while Louisville has tried three different kickoff men, and so far been rewarded with a whopping one touchback.

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The Greek epics introduced the idea of a hero — following an ambitious or gifted character singled out for a long journey, where he or she faces an ordeal and then battles to return home and share the rewards, typically facing another grave challenge along the way.

Superhero stories, though? They dispense with the difficult parts, turning it all into exposition for the thrilling triumph of the smiling, muscular specimen set to be sold to millions as an action figure and video game character.

Lamar Jackson may yet become an action figure and video game star (RIP, NCAA Football video games). But his obstacles are still ahead.

He won’t exactly have to face the journey, the disadvantage of unfamiliar turf. Quite the opposite. He faces the burden of expectation. The game will be at home, with a crowd and a very drunk pizza baron ready to soak in one of the biggest moments in program history. He’s already the conquering hero, which is perhaps too much to put on the shoulders of a sophomore who hasn’t even had the opportunity to conquer anything significant.

Then again, the hero doesn’t get to wait until he is ready. He is chosen. And right now, for at least one week, Lamar Jackson is the hero of college football’s twisting, brutal story.