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HOUSTON -- Last season, Houston outlasted Louisville 34-31 thanks in part to miscues by Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson in his first career start.Things have changed.Jackson is now the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and has No. 3 Louisville (9-1) in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff as the Cardinals visit Houston on Thursday night .Jackson threw for 168 yards and a touchdown against the Cougars last season. But also tossed two interceptions, and a late touchdown pass by Greg Ward helped Houston to the victory.Were a much different team than we were last year, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. Right then we were trying to even find out who we are and what we were doing and everything was new to Lamar when he was out there ... just understanding the difference between high school football and college football. So I dont think last years game will play into this game at all.This season, Jackson has thrown for 2,898 yards and 27 touchdowns. He has added 1,334 yards rushing and leads the nation with 19 rushing touchdowns.His performance has helped the Cardinals rise to No. 5 in the CFP rankings with two games remaining. But Petrino insists that they arent overly concerned with the rankings and are instead focused on the Cougars.They just have to understand that they need to go out and play well, and play the type of football we are capable of playing, Petrino said. Really, thats what we need to do our last two games, and then whatever happens, happens. We cant control any of that.The Cougars (8-2) will counter with Ward, their dual-threat quarterback. He has 2,608 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and 429 yards rushing and nine more scores. Coach Tom Herman said hell play on Thursday despite leaving Saturdays game against Tulane after aggravating a shoulder injury hes been dealing with for several weeks and being bothered by an ankle injury.He is pretty banged up, as he has been most of the year, Herman said. He still gets treatment three times a day on his ankle that really slowed him down in the SMU game and in that stretch in October ... (but) hes going to play.Some things to know about the Louisville-Houston game:STREAKINGThe Cougars have the second-longest home winning streak in the nation at 14 games. They havent lost at home since a 31-24 defeat by Tulane on Nov. 8, 2014. They have won five straight games over Top 25 teams and opened their 2016 campaign with a 33-23 win over then-No. 3 Oklahoma.THE `OTHER BACKSomewhat overshadowed by Jacksons running success is senior RB Brandon Radcliff, whose 141-yard, three-TD effort helped ignite Louisvilles comeback over Wake Forest last week. His first 100-yard performance in six games gave him 768 for the season and an outside chance at giving the Cardinals their first pair of 1,000-yard rushers.BACKING UP WARDWard will have a new backup on Thursday after Kyle Postma broke his arm last week. Postma had surgery to insert a plate and screws in his arm on Monday, leaving DEriq King to back up Ward for the rest of the season. The freshman was a high school quarterback, but has appeared in 10 games with four starts at receiver this season. He has 228 yards receiving and a touchdown.NOTHING DOINGLouisvilles defense has stiffened since losing to Clemson, yielding of average of just 14.2 points and under 246.4 yards in five games. The Cardinals held Wake Forest to 214 yards -- just 37 in the second half -- and rank sixth nationally in total defense at 285.2 yards per contest.BACK AND FEELING GOODHouston LB Tyus Bowser had a career-high 11 tackles, included a career-best three sacks last week against Tulane in his return from injury. Bowser had missed the previous five games after a scuffle with teammate Matthew Adams left Bowser with a facial fracture.---AP Sports Writer Gary B. Graves contributed to this report.Gary Harris Jersey . 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Carmelo Anthony Nuggets Jersey . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.The 2016-17 college basketball season will be the Year of the Freshmen, featuring what could be the best class weve ever seen. During the next two weeks we will get familiar with the best of the best, examining who they are and where each of the top 10 prospects in the 2016 ESPN 100 came from.Read more: No. 10 Dukes Frank Jackson | No. 9 Kentuckys Malik Monk No. 8 Michigan States Miles Bridges | No. 7 Washingtons Markelle Fultz No. 6 Kentuckys DeAaron Fox | No. 5 Kentuckys Bam Adebayo No. 4 UCLAs Lonzo Ball | No. 3 Dukes Jayson Tatum No. 2 Kansas Josh Jackson | No. 1 Dukes Harry GilesBrandy Coles phone was plugged into an outlet across the room of the medical center. A nurse tended to her father, who was set to undergo cataract surgery, and gave Cole specifics on the procedure.?Fifteen minutes worth of texts and missed calls awaited Cole when she retrieved the device. Texts and missed calls regarding the health of her only child: Dukes prized freshman Jayson Tatum.I cant remember which I read first, Cole said of the messages. But it was crazy. I called [Duke assistants Jon] Scheyer and [Jeff] Capel. No one answered because they were still at practice.I really need one of yall to call me back, Cole pleaded down the line. Is my baby OK?Finally, Scheyer returned her call, but was unable to provide clarity on the foot injury Tatum had suffered before more than 50 NBA executives and other onlookers during Dukes second and final pro day on Oct. 25. All Cole knew was that Tatum had to be helped off the court, as the college basketball world wondered whether her son suffered a serious injury.Scheyers response when Cole pushed him for info: I really dont know.Cole, a single mom who basically raised Tatum by herself while working multiple jobs and attending school, didnt hesitate.You can tell me face-to-face when I get there, Cole said. Tonight.Within minutes of the phone call, Cole booked a seat on a flight from St. Louis to Raleigh, North Carolina.Before boarding, she texted her son: Ill be there tonight, baby. Just pray. We are all here praying.After a series of tests, Tatums injury turned out to be something close to the best-case scenario: a sprained left foot that will sideline him just a couple of weeks. Still, whatever the news, there was no chance Cole was going to miss being there when the prognosis was delivered to Tatum.If they were going to tell him he couldnt play, I knew I had to be there to catch him when he falls, Cole said. Luckily, it all worked out.Cole discovered she was pregnant on July 4, 1997, just weeks after her high school graduation. She delivered Tatum on March 3, 1998 -- an 18-year-old single mother who was not about to let her status as a teenage parent be a barrier to her goal of getting an education. In fact, the birth of a baby boy only motivated Cole more, she said.She enrolled at University of Missouri-St. Louis while also working a part-time job at Cingular Wireless -- gift-wrapping at the concierge desk -- to help pay for school, car insurance and day care. Four hours was considered a quality nights sleep for Cole.There were many nights Id come home and hed already be sleeping, Cole said of Tatum. Id hold him all night.It was really tough, but it was what I felt like I had to do for both of us, she added. I remember one day my mom called and told me Jayson crawled for the first time. I just broke down and cried.Cole worked her way up at Cingular and was promoted to management, and she worked on reconciling contracts. At the same time, she continued to pursue her bachelors degree, turning heads when she brought her toddler to class with her.I remember one teacher said something to me about it, Cole recalled. I said, I pay tuition like everyone else. Hes not disrupting the class. As long as I was holding him, Jayson was fine.Now, after nearly 13 years of higher education, Cole is the proud owner of three degrees -- one in communications, another in political science and a law degree she earned in 2010. Tatum was a constant companion for his mom on the journey, sitting in the lounge playing with a Game Boy while Cole attended law school classes.I was bored, Tatum admits. She used to give me games to play and snacks to eat, but just sitting there next to her while she was taking notes, it was pretty awful.At just 10 years old, Tatum was recruited by his moms classmates to play on the Black Law Students Association softball team -- where he hardly looked out of place. But Tatums sport was basketball,, and that was clear at an early age.dddddddddddd Cole is nearly 6 feet tall, so some of Tatums size comes from moms side. But the unavoidable comparison was to Tatums father, Justin Tatum, a 6-foot-6 former college basketball player at Saint Louis University. The pressure of that familial link would become even greater than expected.Jayson Tatums coming-out party came early in his high school basketball career. He was just a freshman at Chaminade Prep -- one of the top private schools in the area -- when he put up a triple-double against a Christian Brothers College High School team that featured eventual Golden State Warriors guard?Patrick McCaw?as well as fellow Division I players Jordan Barnett (Missouri) and Jordan Barnes (Indiana State). Coaches from Michigan State and Indiana were represented in the gym that night, the start of a recruiting process that would ultimately result in Tatum choosing Duke.Before all that, Tatum would have to consider the prospect of joining the opponent that had yielded that breakout performance. CBC, where Justin Tatum had starred in the 1990s alongside eventual NBA lottery pick Larry Hughes, hired the elder Tatum as head coach just after the completion of Jaysons freshman season.The rumors spread quickly. Most assumed Jayson would transfer and play for his dad. Cole said it was a rough summer for Jayson.Hes always known him and been in his life, but Jayson has never lived with him, Cole said. Justin came back from playing overseas when Jayson was about 7 or 8.The whole talk all summer was about what was Jayson going to do? Chaminade coach Frank Bennett said. Im thinking, Hes gone for sure.Father and son had a relationship, but that didnt make the decision easy.It was tough because obviously I wanted to play for him, Jayson said. And he wanted to coach me.Jayson says the conversation in which he informed his father hed stay at Chaminade wasnt easy, but he definitely understood that it was best for me to stay.?He was thriving at Chaminade, both in a basketball sense and academically, and felt a strong bond to his teammates.Despite moving into the No. 1 overall spot in the ESPN rankings as a sophomore -- passing current Duke teammate Harry Giles, who had suffered a season-ending knee injury -- it was a bittersweet season for Tatum, who literally watched his father and CBC win the state title from the sidelines, while standing next to his mother. Tatum and Chaminade came up short again during his junior season before they finally won the Class 5A state title in 2016.By then, Tatum had ended the suspense over his college choice. He was headed to Duke, which would make him one of the linchpins in one of the top recruiting classes in college basketball history.The text messages between Tatum and Cole will continue throughout this season, the ones in which the son always replies to his moms suggestions -- about topics both on and off the court -- with yes, maam.Thats all I say, Tatum said with a laugh. Yes, maam.Cole was tough on Tatum throughout his childhood, but has succeeded in balancing being his mother and also his best friend. One aspect in which there has been little to no wiggle room is academics -- and Cole says thats one of the reasons she was so ecstatic he chose to attend Duke.Coach K wont retire your jersey until you graduate, Cole said. Thats a big thing for me. A lot of Duke kids come back and get their degree. I told him, It doesnt matter how long it takes. Hes seen how hard Ive worked.She was always hard on me, said Tatum, who had a 3.5 GPA in high school. She never lets me have any excuses.Its unlikely that Tatum, barring an injury, will return to Durham for his sophomore season. Most NBA executives who have seen him tell ESPN that the skilled, smooth and versatile 6-foot-8 forward is a lock to be taken in the lottery, and he remains in contention for the No. 1 overall pick when the NBA draft rolls around in June.Cole has made certain that her son wont take anything for granted.We have a unique relationship. Theres no B.S. Cole said.?There is no shortage of support, either. Cole has been with Tatum every step of the way, and its not lost on either mother or son that shell be alongside him for his college journey, just as he was there, Game Boy and all, for hers.Shes my best friend, Tatum said. Im the biggest mamas boy ever, and Im proud to say it. ' ' '