Heisman Winner Lamar Jackson's Top 10 Plays of 2016 Season

Lamar Jackson officially became Louisville's first Heisman Trophy winner and the second from the ACC in the past four seasons on Saturday night, but his path to that prestigious honor started on a Thursday night in September.

It was in Week 1 against Charlotte that the sophomore quarterback began his Heisman campaign with 405 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns in a 70-14 win. Before he was done, Jackson tallied 4,928 yards—becoming the second player in FBS history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for another 1,500—and accounted for 51 touchdowns, more than 86 other schools managed all season.

Jackson's Heisman win wasn't just a matter of raw numbers. It was also due to the weekly additions he made to his highlight reel. Anytime he dropped back to pass or decided to take off and run, he was capable of producing points.

No one had more jaw-dropping plays during the 2016 season than Jackson, and here are 10 of his best.

10. Nice 69-Yard Run to Open Blowout Win at Boston College

No player in college football had more rushing plays that went for 10 or more yards this year than Jackson, who managed that amount 62 times on 234 carries. No other quarterback had more than 46 such runs.

But Jackson did much more than get enough for the first down. In rushing for 1,538 yards and 21 touchdowns, he gained at least 30 yards on a single attempt 13 times and topped the 50-yard mark on five occasions. He also had three runs of at least 60 yards, including one to break the spirits of host Boston College on Nov. 5.

Louisville's opening drive took just three plays and 76 seconds, resulting in points when Jackson rumbled 69 yards for a TD. He kept it on the read-option and was almost through the line before BC realized he hadn't handed off.

By then it was too late, and Jackson spent the final 20 yards of the run looking back to his left and right to see if anyone kept up with him.

9. Finding James Quick in the Corner for 6

Heisman Trophies aren't won on the first Thursday of a season, and they aren't clinched when playing FBS newcomers like Charlotte. But it was hard not to think Jackson was getting started on a major award push after compiling 405 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns in less than three quarters during the season-opening 70-14 victory.

Jackson came into 2016 with questions about whether he could be effective as a passer. His 54.7 completion percentage in his first season needed to get better for him to lead Louisville effectively.

And in that opener against Charlotte, he showed much better accuracy, completing 17 of 23 passes for 286 yards and six scores. And the prettiest throw was one that came well after the outcome had been decided, but it still jumped off the screen.

With his team leading 42-0 with a little more than three minutes left in the first half, Jackson dropped back on a 1st-and-10 from Charlotte's 32 and fired a laser to James Quick that hit him in the hands at the back corner of the end zone. Quick helped by dragging his toes on the way out of bounds, but if not for Jackson's accuracy it wouldn't have mattered what Quick did.

8. Roll Out Then Rumble for Big Gain at Clemson

After blowing out Florida State in Week 3, Louisville came into its Oct. 1 game at Clemson as one of the hottest teams in the country and top challenger to the Tigers' stake as kings in the ACC. Yet the Cardinals didn't play like a team that deserved to be considered equal to Clemson in the first half, falling behind 28-10 due to three turnovers.

But Jackson wouldn't give up. Instead, he led Louisville on a massive comeback thanks to 26 unanswered points that included two touchdown runs and a TD pass. And in the middle were several plays that showed Jackson's speed and athleticism.

Louisville had taken a 29-28 lead with 10:23 left in the fourth quarter and then quickly got the ball back when Jaire Alexander intercepted Clemson's Deshaun Watson at the Cardinals' 44-yard line. On the ensuing play, Jackson faked the handoff and rolled right on play action, checking to see if he could throw deep.

His receivers were covered, though, so he looked for another way to pick up a chunk of yardage. That meant keeping it on the ground, where after sidestepping a diving Clemson defender, he turned on the jets and went diagonal upfield and toward the left sideline.

The play went for 38 yards, with the last few coming thanks to some shifty footwork to throw off a defender who was trying to get the angle on him.

7. Cut Inside to Score against Florida State

The Sept. 17 win over Florida State was Jackson's official coming-out party for the Heisman, a signature performance against a top-tier program that legitimized both his individual abilities and that of Louisville's as a College Football Playoff contender. He needed help from others to be in position for some of his best plays in that game. However, quite often he was able to take that little nudge and run with it.

Or, in this case, run and then cut in another direction.

As was his pattern throughout the season, Jackson led the Cardinals to a touchdown on their opening drive. He needed only six plays and 75 yards to make that happen, with Brandon Radcliff's 30-yard run getting things started and a 31-yard pass to Jaylen Smith putting Louisville at the FSU 2-yard line.

Jackson kept it on the read-option and went left but noticed FSU's overpursuit and the big hole that opened to his right. He cut on a dime and was into the end zone before any defender could react.

6. Read-Option for 72-Yard Touchdown vs. Syracuse

The first four minutes, 43 seconds of Louisville's 62-28 win at Syracuse on Sept. 9 provided enough incredible plays from Jackson to last a season. As it turned out, only one moment from that barrage of offense made our list.

In that short time frame, Jackson accounted for 212 yards of total offense and three touchdowns as the Cardinals scored three times on five offensive snaps. Three of those plays were for 60 or more yards, including a 72-yard TD pass to Quick on the game's first play from scrimmage.

Another long play—a 61-yard throw to Smith—set up a seven-yard TD run by Jackson on Louisville's second drive. And when the Cardinals got the ball back less than two minutes later, the quarterback decided not to involve anyone else.

The read-option told him keeping it was the best course of action, and before any Syracuse defenders could react, he was already around the edge and on his way to a 72-yard score. He even slowed up at the end, but no one was close to catching him.

5. Quick Draw for the Score vs. NC State

After losing to Clemson and struggling to beat Duke, Louisville needed a stress-free game to stay on track for a playoff spot. North Carolina State came to town and obliged, managing just nine first downs while turning it over three times in a 54-13 loss on Oct. 22.

Any thought that NC State might challenge the Cardinals the way they did in taking Clemson to overtime the week before dissipated after Jackson did his usual early damage in the form of a 36-yard touchdown run just 93 seconds into the contest.

The call was a designed draw, coming on 1st-and-10 after Jackson had thrown completions on Louisville's first three plays. Those had gone for eight, 12 and 16 yards, putting NC State's secondary on its heels, thinking an even deeper pass would happen next time.

Instead, Jackson took one step back after getting the shotgun snap and took off. He was to the second level within three seconds and past it not long after, breaking a vain tackle attempt at his feet and then racing the final 25 yards for the TD.

4. Final Drive to Win at Virginia

Jackson won the Heisman despite being on a team that lost three games, including its final two. He is the first player from a squad with more than two regular-season losses to win the award since Baylor's Robert Griffin III in 2011. It might have been four defeats had Jackson not led the Cardinals to a game-winning score to beat Virginia in the final minutes on Oct. 29.

The Cardinals led 24-17 before Virginia scored a touchdown with 1:57 left. The Cavaliers would finish the year with a 2-10 record and had nothing to lose, so rather than play it safe they went for two. They converted to take a 25-24 advantage.

Jackson had nearly two minutes to work with, and Louisville only needed a field goal to retake the lead. He got Louisville near kicker Blanton Creque's range with 19 seconds left after running seven yards for a first down at Virginia's 29-yard line. After a timeout, instead of trying to get a small chunk of yardage to set up a field goal, Jackson took a shot at the end zone and hit Smith in stride for a 29-yard score.

And Jackson made it look easy too. There was no scrambling on his end. He sent Smith, and after taking one step back after the snap, he lofted a perfect ball that the receiver caught just as he crossed the goal line.

3. Evading the Entire Duke Defense

An amazing play doesn't always have to result in a score or even a large chunk of yardage. Sometimes the most important plays are ones in which someone manages to prevent something bad from happening, and as a result anything positive that occurs is gravy.

In the grand scheme of things, Jackson's 13-yard run on 2nd-and-4 late in the third quarter of a 24-14 home win over Duke on Oct. 14 didn't make or break the game. In fact, the Cardinals didn't score on what ended up being an eight-play, 80-yard drive because running back Brandon Radcliff lost a fumble at the 5-yard line. But that didn't make what Jackson did any less impressive.

Jackson read the defense and decided a handoff wasn't the best choice, so he kept it and looked for a hole to run through. There wasn't one, but there were two Duke linemen converging on him in the backfield. He pulled back, causing those two Blue Devils to collide, and first attempted to roll to the left but found himself faced by five defenders.

This meant having to change course again, going to the right and narrowly escaping the grasp of Duke defensive tackle A.J. Wolf before cutting upfield to get the first down.

2. Hurdling in the Carrier Dome

Had it come against any team other than one that ended up allowing 38.6 points per game, including 76 in its season finale, Jackson's display of hops on a nine-yard touchdown run late in the first half against Syracuse would have been No. 1 with a bullet. Instead, it's our choice for runner-up.

But it was still an incredible feat of athleticism and instincts.

You can just watch the play above and bask in its glory, but first let us explain what happened.

After several quick-strike scores in the first few minutes of the game, Louisville's offense had stalled until late in the first half when it put together a methodical 10-play, 84-yard scoring drive. It finished with a spectacular play, as Jackson got the snap on 1st-and-goal from the Syracuse 9-yard line and took off to the left on a zone read.

He had open territory to run in except for one defender, Syracuse's Cordell Hudson, who notched five tackles in that game but failed to on this play. Instead, he made it onto every highlight show in the world after Jackson ran right at him and treated him like a fire hydrant he was leaping over to get from the sidewalk to the street.

1. Spinning to Put the Nail in Florida State's Coffin

Jackson was garnering Heisman buzz right from the outset thanks to those dominant performances against Charlotte and Syracuse, but once he replicated that success against Florida State it turned him into the early front-runner. And his final big play in Louisville's 63-20 win over the Seminoles ensured that.

With his team leading 49-10 as the game entered the fourth quarter, Jackson was still on the field when most star players would've had the helmet off. Instead, the sophomore was getting fourth-quarter action for only the second time in three games to start the season and wanted to make the most of it.

He didn't get to play long—only two snaps—but the stretch included an electric 47-yard touchdown run, during which you could see the defeat on FSU defenders' faces as he raced around or past them on the way to the end zone. And just to put the finishing touches on that score, as he neared the end zone, where several Seminoles had a shot to make the tackle, he spun through traffic and found paydirt without hitting the turf.

All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.