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. Tim Tebow Mets Jersey . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Michael Conforto Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. http://www.metssale.com/mets-devin-mesoraco-jersey/ . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. Jed Lowrie Mets Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. New York Mets Jerseys .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Parramatta have moved to secure the future of the man seen as Jarryd Haynes successor as long-term Eels custodian, re-signing Bevan French until the end of the 2019 NRL season.French scored 19 tries in 13 games in his debut season in 2016, breaking Haynes record for the most four-pointers in a rookie year.The 20-year-old continues a raft of signings for the Eels in recent weeks as the club attempts to recover from its horror 2016 in which its premiership dreams were killed off by sanctions due to salary cap indiscretions.On the same day the Eels announced the football club had suffered an $11 million loss in 2016, coach Brad Arthur welcomed the retention of French as crucial for the clubs future.Bevans development this year was a real positive foor the club and I am sure our fans are pleased that we have secured Bevan for at least another three seasons, Arthur said.ddddddddddddWe have had a strategy over the last two months to retain our key players and provide strong additions for our squad going into 2017.We have made good progress so far and its our intention to continue this strategy as we lead into the 2017 pre-season.Nathan Brown, George Jennings, Siosaia Vave and Josh Hoffman will join the Eels as acquisitions for the 2017 NRL season.The club has re-signed Corey Norman, Danny Wicks, Kenny Edwards, Isaac De Gois, Rory OBrien, Brad Takairangi and Manu Mau ' ' '