HOUSTON — Duke Catalon scored three touchdowns and Houston’s defense hurried and harassed Heisman favorite Lamar Jackson all night to propel the Cougars to a stunning 36-10 victory Thursday night that dashed No. 3 Louisville’s playoff hopes.

Louisville (9-2) entered the game ranked fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings, but was outdone by a Houston team that saw own playoff hopes foiled by two losses to unranked teams.

Things went wrong quickly for the mistake-prone Cardinals when they fumbled the opening kickoff to Houston (9-2). Greg Ward threw his first touchdown pass on the next play to make it 7-0. Brandon Radcliff lost a fumble later in the first and Houston added a field goal on the ensuing drive to make it 10-0.

Jackson threw for 211 yards and a touchdown, but it didn’t come until the second half.

Houston then scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second quarter to push the lead to 31-0 at halftime. Catalon caught a touchdown pass, ran for another score and Houston got the third score in that span on a 50-yard pass by receiver Linell Bonner after a lateral.

The Cougars were in Jackson’s face constantly, sacking him a season-high 11 times.