Dabo Swinney Tips Hat to Jeff Brohm Following Louisville's Win at Clemson

The Cardinals earned their first ever win over the Tigers on Saturday night.

Nov 2, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm (left) meets with Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney after a game at Memorial Stadium. Louisville won 33-21. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As many teams across the ACC can testify, taking down Clemson at home is not an easy task.

Since 2011, the Tigers had been 82-4 at Memorial Stadium. They had also been riding a 22-game winning streak in night games at home, with the last team to knock off Clemson in Death Valley at night being eventual national champion Florida State in 2013.

The energy and noise that can be generated by a hostile Death Valley crowd in primetime is one that very few programs across college football can rival. Even former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson was unable to conquer them during his time as a Cardinal.

But none of that mattered to Louisville this past Saturday night.

Ten years after joining the ACC, the Cardinals were finally able to get the monkey off of their back, dealing the No. 11 Tigers a decisive 33-21 loss at Death Valley. Louisville had previously been 0-8 all-time against Clemson.

Afterwards, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm his flowers for the job they did.

"I give all the credit to Louisville, coach Brohm and his staff ... it's not easy to win here," he said. "They walked in here and kicked our frickin' tails. We've gotta go get back to work."

Additionally, when Swinney was asked about the different reasons for the Tigers' loss, he deflected the potential excuses and continued to give praise to Brohm.

"It ain't about any of that ... I got out-coached tonight," he said.

Swinney's praise of Brohm and Louisville isn't for nothing. Nearly from the jump, the Cardinals' established themselves as the more decisive and the more physical team on the evening, with the execution from both the coaches and the players further stoking the upset fire.

"Really proud of our football team," Brohm said after the game. "I think our players, our coaches, they worked hard all week. We've had to handle some adversity along the way. It hasn't been perfect, hasn't been easy, but we continue to grind.

"A lot of new guys have stepped up and played hard. To come on the road in this environment, against a really good team that was hot, and just play hard the entire game. We had to make plays. We played great tempo. We got stop. We were very sound in our defensive play. Just a lot of things way better, so just very proud of our team."

Offensively, Louisville was able to rush for 210 yards and 7.8 yards per carry, with true freshman phenom running back Isaac Brown running for 151 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Cardinals held a prolific Clemson offense to just 4.5 yards per play and one score on their first nine drives. Then on special teams, Louisville blocked two field goal attempts by the Tigers, while Brock Travelstead connected on four field goals.

Put it all together, and it handed Louisville their highest-ranked road win in program history. The previous high was when the Cardinals took down No. 13 Southern Miss in 2000.

"I think it's special," defensive end Ashton Gillotte said when asked what it meant to finally beat Clemson. "I think our guys have been waiting for this. We've had games where we really should have won against Clemson, even since I've been here. It feels good just to be able to have that stamp, have our mark on history in this program, and just be able to finish it - nonetheless on the road."

(Photo of Jeff Brohm, Dabo Swinney: Ken Ruinard - Imagn Images)

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