LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lamar Jackson accounted for three touchdowns to set a Louisville career record and lead the No. 19 Cardinals to a 42-3 victory at Kent State on Saturday.

Despite missing Jaylen Smith, the team's top receiver , the reigning Heisman Trophy winner threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-22 passing. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Javonte Bagley in the third quarter ended the scoring and gave him 88 total touchdowns, breaking Chris Redman's career mark. In all, Jackson, who did not play in the fourth quarter, finished with 333 yards total offense.

He also helped the Cardinals (3-1) quickly move on from last week's blowout loss to Clemson. On the first play of the game, he connected with tight end Jordan Davis on a 69-yard reception. Four plays later, on 4th-and-goal, Malik Williams' 3-yard run gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead over the Golden Flashes (1-3) less than two minutes into the game.

Louisville racked up 188 yards of offense and used a Trumaine Washington 37-yard interception return to lead 21-0 after a quarter. About the only thing that could match the Cardinals 539-yard offensive performance was a squirrel that made its way on the field in the second quarter and drew cheers from the crowd.

Kent State's Paul Haynes, who served as Louisville's secondary coach in 2002 and as Louisville coach Bobby Petrino's defensive coordinator at Arkansas, coached from the press box for the second straight week after returning from prostate cancer surgery

THE TAKEAWAY

Kent State: Not much went right for the Golden Flashes on the day. However, freshman quarterback Dustin Crum entered the game late in the first quarter and ran 18 times for a team-high 62 yards.

Louisville: After seeing its defense battered against Clemson last week, the Cardinals defense looked much better against the Golden Flashes, who were held to just 150 yards on 59 plays.

UP NEXT

Louisville: The Cardinals host Football Championship Subdivision foe Murray State next Saturday.

Kent State: The Golden Flashes kick off MAC play next Saturday afternoon as they host Buffalo.