se not, Radcliff said. Hes the best player in the nation. Nobody can question that man, the effort he goes out there and plays w

HOUSTON -- When the third set of College Football Playoff rankings were unveiled Tuesday night, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, receiver Jaylen Smith and a handful of other Cardinals tweeted their reactions to it. It was clear they were surprised and certainly not pleased to be outside of the top four.Perhaps they were too concerned with where they stood, according to at least one player following No. 5 Louisvilles stunning 36-10 loss at Houston on Thursday night, which essentially knocked the Cardinals out of the playoff hunt.I think we let that get to us too much, Louisville sophomore safety Dee Smith said after the loss. We shouldnt have paid too much attention to the rankings. Instead of playing our game, we were trying to do too much, in my eyes.Not everyone necessarily agreed, but almost all the Cardinals who spoke with reporters acknowledged a lack of focus for Thursdays game. It showed: they committed 15 penalties, allowed 11 sacks and turned the ball over three times.The ranking is what it is, senior running back Brandon Radcliff said. Im sure there were a lot of people waiting on this moment [for us to lose]. Me being a captain, I tried to get our guys to focus on the task at hand and thats Houston. Our focus wasnt there today.The Cardinals fell behind the Cougars 31-0 at halftime and couldnt recover. They held Houston scoreless in the third quarter, scored a touchdown on their first second-half possession but fumbled in the red zone as they were trying to get a second score, then settled for a field goal on their third possession of the half.We blew it, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. We had an opportunity sitting there. Cant take anything away from Houston either. They did a good job, they executed well and they played well. It was one of those situations where they were better than us tonight, no question about it.Coming into the game, Jackson had a sizable lead on the rest of the country in the Heisman Trophy race. Asked if he thought Thursdays loss would affect his chances, Jackson dismissed such a notion.No, Im not really focused on that, Jackson said. I was focused on winning. Im not really focused on the Heisman. I just have to go out there, play with my team and help us win games. Thats it.Radcliff had stronger words in defense of his teammate, saying it didnt hurt Jacksons chances.Of course not, Radcliff said. Hes the best player in the nation. Nobody can question that man, the effort he goes out there and plays with every week. I dont care what you say, nobody touches him on that field.To me, hes the best player out there and Im not just saying that because hes my teammate. Stack him up against anybody. Nobodys touching what hes doing on that field.Cheap Vans Shoes Ireland .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Clearance Vans Shoes Ireland Free Shipping . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. http://www.clearancevansireland.com/ .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Vans Ireland Outlet . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Discount Vans Shoes Ireland . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. ' ' '