In a top 15 upset, the Clemson Tigers (6-2, 5-1 ACC) fell to the Louisville Cardinals 33-21. The Clemson loss has the college football world in complete shock, as this is the Tigers’ first loss in conference play this season.
Louisville (6-3, 4-2 ACC) controlled the game on both sides of the ball for all four quarters. Running back Isaac Brown led the charge for the Cardinals with a dominating performance on the ground. He cut through the Clemson defense on 20 carries, going for 151 yards—the most the Tigers have given up to an individual player this season.
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough’s performance complemented Brown’s efforts on the ground. Shough completed 17 passes on 32 attempts with 156 passing yards and a rushing touchdown, where he found the end zone off an acrobatic flip dive.
Unlike Clemson, Louisville was able to focus on the details during the game.
“Complementary football. That’s what it takes,” head coach Dabo Swinney said following the loss. “We could not play complementary football. When one side played good, the other side couldn’t. No complementary football at all to create rhythm and momentum and to get our crowd going.”
The crowd would play a significant factor in tonight’s game, but only for a short time. While Louisville missed a field goal attempt during the first quarter on its opening drive, the energy from Death Valley faded as the game neared halftime, and it never returned.
“You gotta hand it to Louisville,” Swinney said. They played a great game. They made more routine plays than us. We must take ownership of it and come ready to play Monday.”
In addition to the Clemson fan base showing their frustration by throwing water bottles and other objects onto the field after a call, the players expressed it as well.
“I’m pissed. I’m not even sad, just mad. I’m pissed,” quarterback Cade Klubnik said.
Klubnik had been on a roll heading into this weekend’s matchup, even finding himself in the Heisman conversation. Despite the consistency from the Texas native, he could not find his groove in the upset loss. Klubnik completed 33 passes on 56 attempts, going for 228 yards and one touchdown. He could not find consistency through the air, forcing him to rush the ball more than usual. Klubnik ran the ball 12 times for 43 yards and paid the price on several rushes with big hits from Louisville defenders.
Linebacker Wade Woodaz also spoke on his emotions after tonight’s performance.
“The most frustrating part is for our seniors and letting someone come into our house and beat us,” he said.
Woodaz finished the game with 11 tackles, ahead of the rest of the Clemson defense.
The Tigers will look to come out with a motivated mindset next week as they visit Virginia Tech for another crucial conference matchup.
