Clemson bounced back from its first loss of the season with a victory over Louisville on Saturday, clinching the ACC Atlantic Division title outright in the process. Here are four sequences that went a long way in determining the outcome, a turning point and a telling stat from the Tigers’ 31-16 win:
- With scores on two of its first three possessions, Clemson had a 10-0 lead and all the momentum late in the first quarter. The Tigers had a chance to keep it going when the defense had Louisville into third-and-12 from its own 18-yard line. But the Cardinals caught Clemson in a blitz and sealed the edge on a handoff to Jawhar Jordan, who raced 44 yards to put Louisville in Tiger territory for the first time. The Cardinals, who later converted a second-and-15, capped the drive on Tiyon Evans’ 16-yard touchdown scamper a few plays later, swinging the momentum early in the second quarter.
- Clemson immediately moved into Louisville territory following the Cardinals’ first scoring drive, but that threat ended when Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah broke through the protection up front and forced a D.J. Uiagalelei fumble near midfield. The Tigers forced a punt yet nearly gave the ball right back when Will Shipley put the ball on the ground on the first play of Clemson’s next drive. But Joseph Ngata pounced on the loose ball to save the possession, and the Tigers again reached Louisville’s side of midfield four plays later. A pass-interference penalty on Louisville then helped Clemson reach the red zone, and the Tigers cashed in on this scoring opportunity when Uiagalelei found Antonio Williams over the middle for a 4-yard touchdown connection, extending the Tigers’ lead to 17-7 in the final minutes of the first half.
- After Louisville made the switch from an injured Malik Cunningham to Brock Domann at quarterback, Clemson’s defense forced a three-and-out to start the second half. The offense then pieced together its longest scoring drive of the day, marching 85 yards in eight plays. Shipley provided the highlight-reel ending when he hurdled a defender near the goal line to cap a 25-yard scoring run. Louisville quickly threatened when Domann first connected with Marshon Ford for a fresh set of downs near midfield and then Tyler Hudson, who got behind Clemson’s defense for a 54-yard reception that got the Cardinals inside the 10. But the defense pushed Louisville back from there, ultimately forcing the Cardinals to settle for James Turner’s 22-yard field goal that kept Clemson ahead by two touchdowns early in the third quarter.
- After coming up with a goal-line stand that forced Louisville to settle for a field goal and kept a two-touchdown lead intact, Clemson forced its first turnover in two games when Jeremiah Trotter Jr. knocked the ball loose from Evans on the Cardinals’ ensuing possession. Jalyn Phillips recovered the fumble for Clemson, setting the offense up near midfield. But Clemson’s momentum was short-lived when Antonio Williams fumbled a short completion along the sideline three plays later. Dorian Jones pounced on the loose ball for Louisville to thwart a real chance for the Tigers to take control of things late in the third quarter.
Turning point
With Clemson’s lead still two touchdowns midway through the fourth quarter, Louisville threatened to get closer when the Cardinals used a mix of the run and the pass to move to Clemson territory for the second straight possession. But after forcing a turnover on downs on Louisville’s previous drive, the Tigers came up with momentum-changing stop just past midfield when Barrett Carter stepped in front of Domann’s second-down pass over the middle and picked it off with just 5 minutes, 40 seconds left. Phil Mafah gave Clemson its largest lead at 31-10 with a long touchdown run a few minutes later.
Telling stat: 9
That’s how many points Louisville mustered on five trips into Clemson territory in the second half. It was far from a perfect performance from the Tigers’ defense, but Clemson bowed up when it was necessary. After holding Louisville to a field goal after the Cardinals got inside the 10-yard early in the third quarter, Clemson forced a turnover on downs and got two takeaways on Louisville’s three other trips onto the Tigers’ side of midfield after halftime. It helped Clemson maintain a multi-score lead throughout the second half and overcome three more turnovers by the offense.