Clemson Tigers’ ACC Title Game Hopes Crash in Loss to Louisville

The Clemson Tigers played their worst game since the loss to Georgia and it severely damaged their ACC Championship game hopes.

Nov 2, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive back Tayon Holloway (20) breaks up a pass intended for Clemson Tigers wide receiver T.J. Moore (1) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

Two weeks to rest. Two weeks to get healthy. Two weeks to prepare for a home stretch to remain undefeated in the ACC.

Perhaps the Clemson Tigers should have just played on instead?

The No. 11 Tigers, who had one of the best offenses in the country, short-circuited after a two-week break and fell to Louisville, 33-21, at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Clemson (6-2, 5-1 in ACC) no longer controls its own destiny to reach the ACC Championship game. Both Miami and SMU won on Saturday to remain undefeated in ACC action. If the Hurricanes and the Mustangs remain undefeated, they will face each other in Charlotte in December.

The Tigers will need help because they couldn’t help themselves against the Cardinals (6-3, 4-2), who played an exceptional game to defeat Clemson for the first time in program history.

A Clemson offense that averaged 42 points and 490 yards per game, along with 7.1 yards per play, couldn’t get much traction against the Cardinals’ defense. While the Tigers finished with 450 total yards, they were well below their season-scoring average and only gained 4.5 yards per play.

While Clemson running back Phil Mafah finished with 171 yards and two touchdowns, Louisville’s defense was clearly geared toward allowing Mafah to gobble up whatever yards he wanted.

As for quarterback Cade Klubnik, he had his poorest performance since the season-opening loss to Georgia. He threw for 228 yards with a touchdown.

The Tigers were down 26-7 going into the final 15 minutes and couldn’t make up any ground. The quarter began with Louisville blocking the second of Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser’s field-goal attempts with 12:46 left in the game.

Clemson was unable to play with pace down the stretch, as the Tigers weren’t allowed to work the middle of the field in the passing game and didn’t show much of a sense of urgency. The Louisville defense had two sacks and broke up five passes.

Clemson settled for short passes and Mafah runs, and he cashed in with a 3-yard touchdown run six minutes left in the game. But it took five minutes to get there.

After the touchdown, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney opted to kick the extra point to cut the lead to 12. A successful two-point conversion would have cut the lead to 11 and allowed a Clemson touchdown, two-point conversion and field goal to tie the game.

The Tigers went for an onside kick and nearly recovered, but possession was awarded to Louisville, which prompted members of the crowd to throw debris onto the turf. On the Cardinals’ first play running back Isaac Brown sprinted 45 yards for a touchdown to ice the game.  

Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 156 yards while Brown rushed for 151 yards. Shough also ran in for a touchdown. Clemson’s defense gave up 366 yards, but Louisville racked up 210 yards on the ground to control the game.

Clemson was behind at halftime for the first time since their season-opening loss to Georgia, as Louisville took a 17-7 lead.

The Cardinals, down 7-3 in the second quarter, put together a 92-yard drive to take a 10-7 lead with 5:42 left, capped by Shough’s 4-yard touchdown run.

Then, Louisville blocked a Hauser field goal to set up a drive that led to running back Keyjuan Brown’s 1-yard touchdown run with 43 seconds left.

The Tigers’ only first-half score was a 12-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to Antonio Williams, which gave Clemson a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter.