Louisville football has a chance for a historic victory when it travels to Clemson, South Carolina where the Tigers are licking their wounds.
The opportunity for Louisville football to completely turn around its season continues on Saturday when the Cards travel to Clemson.
While Louisville enters the game on a four-game winning streak, the Tigers are coming off one of their worst losses in the last decade.
Can Louisville keep the momentum rolling, or will Clemson regain it’s mojo? Let’s dive in.
First Down: What to Know
Who: Louisville at Clemson
Where: Memorial Stadium | Clemson, SC (Capacity: 81,500)
When: 3:30 PM ET | Saturday, November 12th, 2022
How to watch: ESPN or Watch ESPN
Radio: WLCL 93.9 FM and WGTK 970 AM in Louisville (Paul Rogers, Jody Demling, Preston Brown)
Series: Clemson leads 7-0
Last Meeting: Clemson won 30-24 in 2021 at Cardinal Stadium
Win Streak: 4 (!)
Weather Check: 70 and partly cloudy at kickoff
Spread Check: Clemson -7
O/U: 52
Thread Check:
Confidence Level: Elaine dancing at the office party
Second Down: Stats to know
Clemson carries a 38-game home winning streak into the game.
Clemson has won 58 of its last 59 home games.
Louisville has never defeated 2 top-10 teams in the same season. Clemson is ranked 10th in the College Football Playoff standings.
Louisville has beaten 7 top-10 opponents since 1981.
Clemson has not lost back-to-back games since 2011.
Clemson is 3-9 against the spread in its last 12 home games.
Player stats:
Will Shipley (RB) – 20th in the nation in All Purpose Yards
Will Shipley (RB) – t-15th in the nation in rushing TDs (11)
Will Shipley (RB) – t-26th in the nation in rushing yards (802)
DJ Uiagalelei (QB) – t-26th in the nation in passing TDs (18)
DJ Uiagalelei (QB) – 43rd in the nation in passing completion percentage (.646%)
Myles Murphy (DE) – t-26th in the nation in sacks (5)
Passing
DJ Uiagalelei 177/273, 1,994 YARDS, 18 TD, 5 INT, 16 SACKS
Cade Klubnik 9/20, 85 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 SACKS
Rushing
Will Shipley 135 ATT, 802 YARDS, 11 TD, 5.3 YPC
DJ Uiagalelei 98 ATT, 373 YARDS, 4 TD, 3.8 YPC
Phil Mafah 66 ATT, 294 YARDS, 2 TD, 4.5 YPC
Receiving
Antonio Williams 33 REC, 390 YARDS, 2 TD, 11.8 YPC
Joseph Ngata 24 REC, 346 YARDS, 2 TD, 14.4 YPPC
Davis Allen (TE) 27 REC, 325 YARDS, 3 TD, 12.0 YPC
Beaux Collins 20 REC, 308 YARDS, 5 TD, 15.4 YPC (OUT DUE TO INJURY)
Jake Briningstool (TE) 15 REC, 163 YARDS, 4 TD, 10.9 YPC
Defense
Trenton Simpson, 57 Tackles, 3 PD, 1 FF, 0.5 Sacks (Leader in tackles)
R.J. Mickens (S), 27 Tackles, 2 PD, 2 INT (Leader in INTs)
Myles Murphy (DE), 30 Tackles, 2 PD, 1 FF, 6.5 Sacks (leader in sacks)
Barrett Carter (LB), 41 tackles, 2 FF (Leader in FF)
3rd Down: Key Storylines
Who plays at QB for Clemson?
The story that has potential to dominate the headlines: Does Clemson finally go to their freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik?
The high school sensation is just gathering his bearings in Clemson, but he came in and led the Tigers to a comeback win vs. Syracuse.
Louisville fans would love the production of a DJ Uiagalelei on their sideline. DJ U has accounted for 1,994 yards, 18 TDs, and 5 interceptions this season while running for 373 yards and 4 more scores.
Still, after some close calls for the Tigers in recent weeks and a dominant performance by Notre Dame’s defense, the national story has surrounded Clemson’s QB controversy.
Klubnik has played in 6 of Clemson’s games but only tallied 85 yards on 9-of-20 attempts for 1 TD and 1 INT.
Dabo Swinney said earlier this week that he wants to get his freshman phenom involved, but does that mean we see a permanent change or just Klubnik for a few snaps? The QB performance will dictate much of how this game goes.
How does Louisville handle the environment at Clemson?
Death Valley is a tough place to win. Had you heard?
Amid 38 consecutive home victories and 58 wins in its last 59 tries, Clemson has been the most dominant team in the country on its own field.
There are lots of reasons behind this.
Clemson is not an easy place to get to. Louisville will stay in a hotel Friday night in Greensboro and make a 45-minute drive to Death Valley- That is almost unheard of.
The Tigers have one of the largest stadium capacities in the country, and almost always sell out their 81,500 seats.
And everything from music playing during opponent offensive snaps to fans sneaking into opposing huddles to officiating slanting heavily in Clemson’s favor have become commonplace.
Everything is just a little bit harder in Memorial Stadium.
Can Louisville get over the hump?
Fans are surprisingly confident heading into this one, likely due to Clemson’s poor performance at Notre Dame after needing a lot of help to pull out a victory against Syracuse the week prior.
Still, the fact remains that as close as Louisville has been against the Tigers – 4 games have come down to the last play – they have never been able to come out victorious.
If Louisville can beat a top-10 Clemson team, it’d be its first victory over Clemson, the first season ever winning 2 games against Top-10 opponents, and obviously would break Clemson’s insane winning streak in Death Valley.
The odds are stacked against them, but the Cards have to finally get over the hump at some point, right?
Fourth Down: Predictions
(I can’t believe we are doing this to ourselves but I take solace in my 7-2 record this season)
Jacob Lane
Louisville 28, Clemson 34
Presley Meyer
Louisville 32, Clemson 27
Vincent Lococo
Louisville 31, Clemson 21
GG Robinson
Louisville 34, Clemson 20
Matthew McGavic
Louisville 27, Clemson 24
Still can’t believe we are doing this.
Go Cards. Make history.
