Louisville Football Stuns Clemson in Death Valley

CLEMSON, S.C. – Traveling to the Palmetto State for a primetime showdown against Clemson, the Louisville football program was able pull off a stunning road upset, escaping Death Valley with a 33-21 win on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

Entering the matchup as a 10-point underdog, the Cardinals (6-3, 4-2 ACC) earn their first ever victory against the No. 11 Tigers (6-2, 5-1 ACC), as they had previously been 0-8 since they joined the ACC in 2014. Louisville also snapped Clemson’s 22-game winning streak in night games at Death Valley.

Defense and special teams was the name of the game for Louisville. Facing a Clemson team that was averaging 42.0 points and 490.4 yards per game, the Cardinals held the Tigers to 450 yards and 4.5 yards per play. Additionally, Louisville blocked two Clemson field goal attempts, while Brock Travelstead went 3-4 on kicks.

While Tigers running back Phil Mafah ran for 171 yards plus two scores, the Cardinals held Clemson quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful Cade Klubnik to 32-of-55 for 219 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Stanquan Clark had a team-best 12 tackles, while Louisville had a whopping nine pass breakups – including two each from D’Angelo Hutchinson and Tayon Holloway.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Louisville put up 366 total yards of offense, including 210 on the ground. Running back Isaac Brown had a monster game, rushing for 151 yards and a touchdown. QB Tyler Shough went 17-of-32 on the night for 156 yards, and also ran for a touchdown.

Louisville’s defense got off to a very good start in Death Valley, forcing Clemson to go three-and-out on their first two drives of the night. While their offense struggled some to get things going right out of the gates, the Cardinals did strike first, connecting on a 21-yard field goal on their second drive of the game.

Clemson responded by putting up a scoring drive of their own. The Tigers strung together an 11-play drive that ended with Williams finding the end zone on a 12-yard score in the final seconds of the first quarter.

Towards the final few minutes of the second quarter, after trading punts, the momentum swung in Louisville’s direction. Shough capped off a 92-yard drive with a four-yard rushing score, then on the ensuing Clemson drive, Quinn blocked a 49-yard field goal try to get the ball back for the Cardinals around midfield.

Using a ground-and-pound drive, Louisville added one more touchdown – this time by Keyjuan Brown from a yard out – to take a 17-7 lead into halftime. It marked the first time in the nine-game series that the Cardinals held a halftime lead over the Tigers.

While Louisville couldn’t finish their drives to start the second half, they still were able to get points out them. On the Cardinals’ first three drives to start the second half, Travelstead drilled field goals on all of them, hitting them from 42, 40 and 49 yards out.

Additionally, Louisville’s defense continued on their stout play from the first half, holding Clemson to only 54 yards in the third quarter. The Tigers went three-and-out to start the second half, then were turned over on downs after that.

In the early goings of the fourth quarter after Travelstead made his third field goal, Louisville pulled out yet another clutch special teams play. After the Tigers got all the way to the seven-yard line and had to attempt a field goal, the Hutchinson came swooping in for the Cardinals’ second blocked field goal of the night.

That being said, Clemson still kept themselves in the game. They forced a three-and-out by Louisville after the blocked kick, then orchestrated a 16-play touchdown drive – capped off by a three-yard run by Mafah – for their first points since the first quarter and trim it to a 12-point Cardinals lead with six minutes left.

However, Isaac Brown put the kill shot on Clemson on the ensuing Louisville drive. Needing only one play, he scampered 45-yards for a touchdown.

While Clemson did score again on their next drive, with Mafah punching it in from a yard out, the Cardinals were able to drain out the clock on their final drive.

Next up, Louisville heads into their second and final bye week, and will head out west to face Stanford when they return to the gridiron. Kickoff against the Cardinal is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16 at a to-be-determined time.

(Photo of Tyler Shough: Ken Ruinard – Imagn Images)

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