Playing comfortable games isn’t exactly Clemson’s style this season.
With a defense that’s largely contained opposing offenses but an offense of their own that’s still struggling in some ways, all of the Tigers’ games against FBS competition this season had been decided by one possession until last week. And Clemson needed Barrett Carter’s fumble recovery in the end zone on the final play to pull out a 10-point win over the Seminoles on Saturday.
That victory extended the nation’s longest active home winning streak to 32 games, which has helped Clemson (5-3, 4-2 ACC) win more games than it’s lost this season despite an offense that still ranks 80th or worse nationally in rushing, passing, total offense and scoring. When the Tigers aren’t playing in the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium, the task of winning has been that much more difficult.
The Tigers head to Louisville (4-4, 2-3) on Saturday looking for just their second road win of the season. Only a three-point win at Syracuse on Oct. 15 — one in which the Orange missed a field as time expired — is separating Clemson from being winless on the road, though it’s not like the Tigers haven’t had their chances to improve their record away from home.
Clemson’s three road losses have come by an average of 7.6 points.
“Our effort’s got to be amazing,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. “We’ve got to physically win the matchup. We’ve got to take care of the ball. We can’t have stupid penalties. But the main thing offensively is just be opportunistic.”
That’s primarily what’s kept Clemson from winning more games no matter where they’ve played, but those shortcomings as well as the miscues have been magnified on the road. D.J. Uiagalelei’s pick-six against Georgia proved to be the difference in that 10-3 loss in Charlotte, and the offense bogged down with seven punts in eight possessions after taking a 7-0 lead at North Carolina State, which turned into a double-overtime loss.
During its most recent road trip at Pittsburgh, Clemson had another 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but an interception in the red zone on an earlier possession kept the Tigers from an even larger cushion at that point. Clemson looked as if it had finally created that cushion in the second quarter when Uiagalelei found a wide-open Will Shipley out of the backfield, but the pass was dropped, making for a seismic shift in momentum after the Panthers scored touchdowns on their next two possessions and never looked back in a 27-17 win.
Those turnovers and penalties haven’t helped, though those have followed the Tigers wherever they’ve gone. Clemson has turned it over 11 times this season with five of those coming in the last two games. And the Tigers are the fourth-most penalized team in the ACC (7.12 penalties per game).
“Opportunities were there,” Swinney said of the loss at Pitt. “We just didn’t kind of seize the moment. I think when you’re on the road and have those opportunities, you’ve got to seize that moment.”
Limiting the explosive plays of Louisville’s offense would also help the Tigers’ chances. Clemson did that for the most part last week, limiting FSU to 4.3 yards per snap. But the Seminoles did score on a 75-yard pass. And Louisville always poses the threat of big plays with dual-threat quarterback Malik Cunningham, who’s helped the Cardinals to a 3-1 record at Cardinal Stadium this season.
“They’ve had some huge explosives,” Swinney said. “Make them have to drive the ball down the field. That will be key, especially on the road.”
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