LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- After last week’s 52-7 win at Boston College, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino expressed disgust at the apparent need to run up the score against opponents to impress the College Football Playoff selection committee.

For most of Saturday night, Petrino and the No. 6 Cardinals didn’t have to worry about that. In fact, they found themselves just needing to score, period, after trailing Wake Forest for more than three quarters at home. When they finally did wrest control to win by a comfortable margin, it surprisingly wasn’t Lamar Jackson riding to the rescue.

Jackson had a rare subpar night, at least by the ridiculous standards the leading Heisman Trophy contender has set this season. And like its quarterback, Louisville didn’t look like its usual self while trailing 12-3 at halftime and 12-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Lamar Jackson was held to a season-low 293 yards, but managed to rally Louisville in the fourth quarter. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Cardinals worked out some frustrations in the final 10:35, scoring five touchdowns and even putting Jackson back in to hand the ball off in the final minute for a meaningless score in a 44-12 win over Wake Forest. A larger margin of victory wasn’t really necessary, though, because of what happened elsewhere.

The Cardinals have been hoping for some chaos ever since they lost at Clemson on Oct. 1. They finally caught a break -- and huge. The Tigers were upset by Pittsburgh earlier on Saturday, a score that drew a roar from the Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium crowd when it was shown on the videoboard during the first quarter. But that wasn't all. Far from it. Visiting USC stunned No. 4 Washington, 26-13, and host Iowa converted a 33-yard field goal on the final play to knock off No. 3 Michigan, 14-13.

Louisville has finished the ACC portion of its schedule and would still need Clemson to lose next week in order to make the conference title game. The Tigers’ opponent next week? These same Demon Deacons. That’s why there were probably a lot of “Good game, go get ‘em next week,” salutations from the home team's side during the postgame handshake.

If the Cardinals proved anything in this one, it’s that they can win a game without a superhero showing from Jackson. In the increasingly likely scenario that he claims the Heisman, his highlight reel during the presentation ceremony probably won’t include any moments against Wake Forest. Jackson had as many lost fumbles as touchdowns, and his lone score didn’t arrive until he found Cole Hikutini on a 2-yard throw with 4:05 left the game.

Jackson came into the game with an FBS-best 45 touchdowns and had accounted for at least two in each game. His 293 total yards also were a season low. A lot of teams would like to pick Wake Forest defensive coordinator Mike Elko’s brain to find out how he slowed down the most dangerous player in college football.

But Jackson got some much-needed help, too. With Elko’s defense so focused on containing the elusive quarterback, tailback Brandon Radcliff found some huge holes to run through. Radcliff piled up 141 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries. He hadn’t gone for more than 69 yards since September.

Louisville’s defense, still an underrated part of this team’s success, also did its part. It held Wake Forest to just four field goals in the first half after the offense turned the ball over three times. Then it pitched a second-half shutout, added a score of its own on Ronald Walker’s pick-six and destroyed the Demon Deacons’ offensive line with seven sacks.

Petrino could have easily just had his team take a knee several times late in the game. Regardless of the final score or Jackson’s numbers, it was a productive day for a team that needed some help in the playoff and ACC title chases.