If you’re reading this, get to Cardinal Stadium on Saturday night for Louisville football vs. Clemson.
College football often feels like it’s drunk. This year’s matchup between Louisville football and the Clemson Tigers is a perfect example.
A national powerhouse, Clemson entered the season as the heavy favorite to win the ACC and one of two favorites to once again make the National Title Game.
That hasn’t happened. Despite having one of the most talented teams in the country, Clemson has looked downright bad at times this year- Particularly on offense.
Still, the Tigers remain a team with the best defense in the league and easily the most talent.
On Saturday Clemson visits a Louisville football team that has, at times, looked like a top 25 squad only to fall flat on its face.
Now, perhaps the drunkest of all Week 10 matchups will feature one team trying to get it back together visiting another team trying to just keep it together for one game.
First down: What to know
Who: Clemson at Louisville
Where: Cardinal Stadium | Louisville, KY
When: November 6, 2021 at 7:30 PM
TV: ACCN
Radio: 790 WKRD AM in Louisville
Pregame on 93.9 FM in Louisville
Last Meeting: Clemson won 45-10 in 2019
Series: Clemson leads 6-0
Spread Check: Clemson -3
Thread Check:
Get Hyped:
Second down: Three big questions
Can Louisville’s defense step up without Kei’Trel Clark?
Louisville is now without its two best players on defense- Monty Montgomery and Kei’Trel Clark- for the rest of the season.
Clark, especially, is the last player this team wanted to lose. He is the definition of a lockdown corner. When NC State tried to challenge him last week, he was up for the task, essentially shutting down his side of the field.
Now, Louisville is young and inexperienced at corner. Undoubtedly, Clemson will try to test them early and often. It will be up to Trey Franklin, Chandler Jones, Greedy Vance, and company to step up and the Louisville front three to get pressure on the QB.
Will Malik Cunningham step up against Clemson’s D?
Clemson poses the toughest defensive threat Louisville has seen all season. Although the Tigers are talented, however, they are still susceptible in some areas; Namely in coverage across the middle.
Cunningham will be tasked with finding his dangerous weapons Tyler Harrell and Justin Marshall in mismatches. I’d look for Harrell to get some shots and tight end Marshon Ford to be active in the Clemson secondary.
Can Louisville football finish?
There is no doubt in my mind that Louisville can compete in and win this game.
The obvious question this season is can this team play a complete, 60-minute game. We know this team could easily be 6-2 or 7-1 right now if a few plays go its way. However, losing games against Virginia and NC State by a combined score of 42-6 in the fourth quarters has cost the Cardinals in a major way.
The message for anyone invested in this team is very simple: bring the same energy and execution in the fourth quarter as you do the rest of the game. If UofL can finish, there’s still hope to turn this back half of the season around.
Third Down: What they’re saying
“Just got to keep remembering the goal of the situation. Trying to focus for 60 minutes, instead of just for three quarters. But we’re working on it day in and day out. Hopefully we can put it all together this Saturday.”
– Louisville RB Jalen Mitchell on how to fix 4th quarter issues
“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Clemson, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”
– Clemson HC Dabo Sweeney
“I think it’s a mindset that we kind of started a couple of years ago. No matter the circumstance – ‘good’. Right? ‘Good’. Let’s go out there and perform, no matter what. The ball’s on the two yard line, the offense is fumbling and it’s on the two? ‘Good’. We get to go out, and we get to show our talents and show that we can be a really good defense. It’s another opportunity. Don’t look at it as a negative that, “okay, we just turned the ball over” or “they just got a pick, or got a kickoff return or punt return, now it’s on the plus side of the field”. Good.
Those are the things that we tell our guys, whether it’s good or whether it’s “so what, now what”? I think the guys really bought into it, and they are really taking heed to it. No matter where we put the ball, we have to go out there and we have to stop those guys. We’ve done it for the most part, and a couple of times we have not. I’m very pleased from that standpoint, that our guys have that mentality. Even once they take the field, we’re going to stop no matter what.”
– Louisville DC Bryan Brown on creating more turnovers
“I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe—I believe what I believe is right.”
– Clemson HC Dabo Sweeney
“We need to have our fans to be here, to be loud, to be all engaged into the game and it can be, we certainly can be that here, we’ve been that way here.”
– Louisville HC Scott Satterfield
“I wish you’d have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it…I’m sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn’t yet…I don’t want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I’m confident I have. I just haven’t—you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I’m not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.”
– Clemson HC Dabo Sweeney
Fourth Down: Predictions
Spencer Brown: Clemson 31, Louisville 27
Ethan Sprowles: Clemson 24, Louisville 17
Alan Thomas: Louisville 27, Clemson 23
Presley Meyer: Louisville 31, Clemson 14
Matt McGavic: Clemson 21, Louisville 17
Brian Trent: Louisville 35, Clemson 31
Nick Conner: Clemson 27, Louisville 23
Next: Nick’s Picks Week 10
