Louisville vs. Houston: Score and Twitter Reaction from Cougars' Upset Win

The Houston Cougars dealt a huge blow to the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals' postseason hopes with a resounding 36-10 victory Thursday night at TDECU Stadium.

Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. threw for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Duke Catalon put up 107 total yards and three scores to pace the Cougars. But Houston's defense delivered the victory, holding Heisman Trophy front-runner Lamar Jackson to 244 total yards and only one passing touchdown. 

This wasn't the first time the Cougars have limited Jackson, either.

Last season, they held him to 168 passing yards and 16 yards on the ground in a 34-31 victory. 

It was a bombardment in the first half, as the Cougars scored 31 unanswered points to shock the semifinal hopefuls.

Houston wasted no time getting started. After deferring on the coin toss, the Cougars forced Malik Williams to cough up the opening kickoff deep in Louisville territory. Ward quickly hit Catalon with a 13-yard touchdown pass 11 seconds into the game.

Houston's defense maintained its momentum with a fast, aggressive attack, giving Jackson no time to get comfortable in the pocket, per ESPN Stats & Info:

After Louisville punted on its first two possessions, Brandon Radcliff fumbled in Cardinals territory, adding to Louisville's staggering number of giveaways, which has made Jackson's play this season all the more impressive, per MLive.com's Nick Baumgardner:

The fumble led to a Houston field goal, giving the Cougars a 10-0 lead after one quarter in which Jackson put up minimal numbers, per Chris Hummer of 247Sports:

Roughly three minutes into the second, a fake punt set up Houston's second touchdown of the night, which helped put Jackson and Co. in a 17-0 hole.

ESPN CollegeFootball showed Houston's fake punt:

TV One's Roland Martin was looking at the big picture:

Offensive penalties and Houston defensive lineman Ed Oliver, who recorded six tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and two pass breakups, continued to stymie Jackson.

The freshman dominated the trenches in his three quarters of play before leaving with a right knee injury, putting on an overpowering display of strength and speed, per CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli:

"

When you think you’re gonna make a play but then Ed Oliver just happens pic.twitter.com/43tMOIEit7

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 18, 2016"

Granted, Louisville wasn't doing itself any favors by committing 15 penalties, mostly on false starts and holding.

After another punt, Houston made it 24-0 thanks largely to Catalon's third touchdown of the night, which came on a two-yard rush, to create Louisville's largest deficit of the season:

Andrew Nemec of the Oregonian was getting antsy:

But it looked as though Jackson had more than just on-field issues to contend with, per Andrea Adelson of ESPN:

Things got even worse when Houston went up 31-0 after a trick play allowed wide receiver Linell Bonner to hit Chance Allen for a 50-yard touchdown pass, via SportsCenter:

WBAI's Andrew Jerell Jones knew the Cougars were smelling blood:

"

Houston just wants to take Louisville's playoff hopes, Lamar Jackson's Heisman and UL's entire soul away in total with this first half.

— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) November 18, 2016"

Jackson went just 9-of-20 for 92 yards through the air with 41 yards on the ground in the first half. But the team wasn't doing him any favors, committing 10 penalties compared to just seven first downs. 

He finally got things going in the second half, when he hit Cole Hikutini for a 12-yard pass on 4th-and-3 to cap a 64-yard drive.

It was a historic touchdown, though it was a minor consolation prize for a team that couldn't figure out Houston, per ESPN College Football:

This was a must-win game for the Cardinals, who were trying to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive, but Houston's overwhelming performance crushed those dreams.

It also dealt a considerable blow to Jackson's Heisman hopes, given his struggles.

While the style of victory was surprising, seeing Houston win might not have been that much of a shock, considering it has won 15 straight games at home. Had it not been for losses to Navy and SMU, the Cougars might have been the ones entering Thursday night with a chance to earn a semifinal spot. 

Still, Houston will likely be ranked next week and still has an outside shot to reach the AAC Championship Game if Navy loses its last two matchups.

Postgame Reaction

Even though his team shut down Jackson, Houston head coach Tom Herman wasn't going to take anything away from the Louisville star, per Hummer:

But he did take time to applaud his defensive force, Oliver, per Hummer:

Regardless of its two losses earlier this season, Herman holds his team in high regard, per Bill Bishop of KHOU:

Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino was understandably upset after seeing his team's national title hopes go up in smoke, per ESPN CollegeFootball:

And he didn't exclude himself from his criticisms, per Kent Taylor of WAVE-TV:

"

"We got beat by their offense, got beat by their defense, got beat by their special teams. It was a bad job of coaching on my part," Petrino

— Kent Taylor (@KentTaylorWAVE) November 18, 2016"

Now with two losses of its own, Louisville could be holding out hope just to get into a New Year's Six bowl. With one last game against Kentucky, the Cardinals have one shot to make a case as to why they should be playing near the first of the year.