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. Authentic Custom Phillies Jersey . 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MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United signed prolific attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund for a reported fee of $33.5 million on Wednesday as newly hired manager Jose Mourinho continued his squad rebuilding ahead of the Premier League season.Having already brought in striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and defender Eric Bailly this offseason, Mourinho secured the sought-after signature of Mkhitaryan, an Armenia international who scored 23 goals for Dortmund last season and was the German leagues player of the year.He is a real team player with great skill, vision and also has a good eye for goal, Mourinho said of the 27-year-old Mkhitaryan.I believe he will make an impact on the team very quickly as his style of play is suited to the Premier League.Mkhitaryan has agreed to a four-year deal with United, with the option of another year. His father, Hamlet, was also a footbaaller.ddddddddddddI believe playing for such a great club honors my fathers memory, Mkhitaryan said, and the inspiration and drive he gave to me when I was young.Mkhitaryan also set up 32 goals in all competitions last season, and looks to be the ideal player to add some finishing to Uniteds midfield that labored last season under Louis van Gaal. He made 140 appearances and scored 41 goals for Dortmund after joining from Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013.He will likely be one of the three attacking midfielders behind Ibrahimovic in Uniteds lineup this season, probably on the right side, along with Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial.Mourinho suggested in a news conference at Old Trafford on Tuesday that he wanted to sign four players by the start of the season. ' ' '