NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Asked about his record-breaking rushing performance in Wednesday night's Music City Bowl, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson gave credit to his beefy bodyguards up front.

"It was good execution by the offensive line," he said, "and I took it from there."

Jackson took it 226 yards on 22 carries, scoring two touchdowns and accounting for two others in the air as the Cardinals completed a nice comeback from an 0-3 start by holding off Texas A&M 27-21 at Nissan Stadium.

Jackson scored on first quarter runs of 6 and 61 yards as he erased Marion Barber's 11-year-old bowl record of 187 yards. A freshman who was installed as the starter for this game after leading a second-half rally in Louisville's regular-season-ending win at Kentucky, Jackson also threw for 227 yards on 12-of-26 passing.

"He really executed," Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said of Jackson. "He worked long and hard, studying tape and improving tremendously on his footwork and accuracy. I'm very happy with the way he ran the offense."

According to Jackson, his first pass set the stage for what occurred. On a rollout to the left, he hit tight end Cole Hikutini with about a 5-yard throw and Hikutini did the rest, lugging it 56 yards to the Texas A&M 7-yard line to set up Jackson's first touchdown 3:04 into the game.

"It was good because it let people know that I could throw it," Jackson said.

Jackson made liberal use of Louisville's three tight ends. Hikutini caught three passes for 103 yards, and Micky Crum and Keith Towbridge latched on to touchdown receptions of 2 and 17 yards, respectively.

Towbridge's scoring grab occurred with 3:01 left in the third quarter, supplying the Cardinals (8-5) with a 27-14 lead. It stood as the winning score as a Louisville defense denuded of key contributors by injury and ejections held up on A&M's last drive.

Taking over at their 21 with 3:52 left, the Aggies (8-5) used the passing of first-time starting quarterback Jake Hubenak and two defensive penalties to reach the Louisville 25, where they faced fourth-and-9. But Hubenak's back-foot pass for the end zone against the blitz fell between two receivers and the Cardinals sealed the verdict on Jackson's 4-yard run for a first down with 1:17 remaining.

"I told coach (Petrino), 'We've got your back. We're going to get this stop.' We've been in that situation a lot this year," linebacker Keith Kelsey said.

Hubenak, who got the call when A&M saw starters Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray transfer after the conclusion of the regular season, offered steady play after a predictably shaky beginning. Hubenak hit on 28-of-48 passes for 307 yards, including touchdowns of 4 yards to wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones and 29 yards to wide receiver Christian Kirk.

However, the defense, which lost senior linebacker James Burgess to a targeting ejection on the first play and two other starters with injuries, came up with key plays when required. Outside linebacker Devonte Fields bagged three sacks, and safety Josh Harvey-Clemons added a strip-sack and an interception to halt two second-half possessions.

"The story was, we had two turnovers and we couldn't get a turnover when we needed one," Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said. "And we gave up 300 yards rushing. It was a hell of a game, but give Louisville credit for making the plays."

A&M wide receiver Josh Reynolds set bowl records with 11 catches for 177 yards, and running back Tra Carson added 106 yards and a first-quarter touchdown on 20 attempts.

Ultimately, though, Louisville's bowl-record 307 yards carried the night.

"I look at the bowl as the start of next season," said Petrino, who posted his 100th career win in the college ranks. "I'm excited about what we have coming back. We'll have a confident team."

NOTES: Texas A&M P Drew Kaser entered the game .01 of a yard behind Todd Sauerbrun, who punted at West Virginia from 1991 to 1994, for the NCAA FBS career punt average record of 46.31. Kaser fell short of the mark, averaging 43.7 yards on seven attempts. ... This is Aggies defensive coordinator John Chavis' second straight trip to the Music City Bowl. He served in a similar capacity for LSU's last-play loss to Notre Dame in 2014. ... Louisville OLB Devonte Fields took the FBS lead in tackles for loss with three, giving him 22 1/2, two more than Clemson's Shaq Lawson.