Lamar Jackson vs. Syracuse: Stats, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

After emerging as a Heisman Trophy candidate last week, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson may have established himself as the favorite Friday night with five total touchdowns against Syracuse.

The sophomore from Boynton Beach, Florida, went off once again Friday, completing 20 of 39 passes for 411 yards, one touchdown and one interception, along with 199 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries.

According to Louisville Football and ESPN Stats & Info, Jackson set both Louisville and ACC records with 610 total yards. He also fell just one rushing yard short of becoming the first player in FBS history to pass for at least 400 yards and rush for at least 200 yards in a single game.

Per ESPN, however, Jackson became the second player with 400 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in a single FBS game.

As Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports pointed out, Jackson's incredible game could have been even better with more help from his teammates:

His dominant showing against the Orange came on the heels of racking up 405 total yards and eight touchdowns in just one half against Charlotte in the opener. Here is a look at Jackson's stats after two games in 2016 for the Cardinals:

Passing
Rushing
CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	TD	INT
37	62	697	59.6%	7	1
ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	-	-
32	318	9.9	6	-	-

Jackson wasted no time picking up where he left off in Week 1, as he connected with senior wide receiver James Quick for a 72-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage. 

After a Syracuse punt, Jackson needed three plays on the next drive to get back in the end zone. He completed a 61-yard pass to sophomore wideout Jaylen Smith and then finished things off himself with a seven-yard scoring run.

Jackson's quick-strike ability was on full display on the Cardinals' third drive, as he needed just one play to score on the ground from 72 yards out and put Louisville ahead 21-0.

Following that touchdown, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports was left with little doubt that Jackson is one of the nation's premier players:

Jackson's three touchdowns were more than most quarterbacks accomplish in an entire game, but he wasn't even done putting points on the board in the first quarter.

Syracuse finally got on the board to make it 21-7, but Jackson completed a pass to senior receiver Jamari Staples for 55 yards and then ran for another touchdown from 13 yards to extend Louisville's lead to 28-7.

SportsCenter tweeted the following regarding Jackson's remarkable start to the game:

"

This is Lamar Jackson's line after the 1st quarter.

Seriously. pic.twitter.com/Iy8IjVti8D

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 10, 2016"

With four first-quarter touchdowns, Jackson had 12 on the season, even after playing just two quarters against Charlotte. ESPN put that into further perspective:

For as many exciting plays as Jackson made in the opening quarter, his biggest highlight of the night was yet to come.

Jackson scored his fifth and final touchdown of the first half on a nine-yard run with a little over three minutes remaining.

As seen in this photo courtesy of SportsCenter, Jackson leaped over a defender en route to the end zone, which ensured that his legend would continue to grow:

While Jackson threw his first interception of the season in the closing seconds of the half, and Syracuse battled back to within 35-21 entering the locker room, the incredible signal-caller still had a first half for the ages.

Brent Axe of Syracuse.com tweeted a rundown of Jackson's numbers through two quarters:

Jackson continued to rack up yardage through the air and on the ground in the third quarter, but Syracuse managed to clamp down in the red zone and prevent him from adding to his touchdown total, although wide receiver Traveon Samuel did have a rushing score on a reverse.

The Heisman candidate was held without a touchdown in the third quarter and then had to settle for a field goal early in the fourth, which put Louisville on top 45-28.

After a Syracuse turnover with under eight minutes left in the game, Jackson did not come back out on to the field since the Cardinals had built up a nearly insurmountable lead.

Although the level of competition leaves something to be desired, there is little doubt that Jackson has thrust himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation.

The opponents will get much tougher with Florida State, Clemson and Houston all remaining on the schedule, and his performances in those games will likely determine how real his Heisman chances are.

Big names such as Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr., Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, Georgia running back Nick Chubb, LSU running back Leonard Fournette and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey are among those who Jackson will be tasked with outplaying over the course of the season.

Jackson is a big play waiting to happen every time the ball is in his hands, and that was apparent throughout the night against Syracuse.

There will undoubtedly be more resistance and more pressure in future games, but if his teammates can raise their level of play close to that of Jackson's, he has a legitimate chance to vie for one of the most prestigious awards in sports.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.