No. 11 Clemson lost its first ACC game of the season, falling 33-21 at home to Louisville.
Isaac Brown ran for a 45-yard touchdown after the Cardinals recovered an onside kick attempt by Clemson to put the game away with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter.
After Phil Mafah scored a three-yard TD to make it a 26–13 game, Clemson elected to kick an extra point rather than attempt a 2-point conversion to cut the margin to 11 points. That decision made more sense when the Tigers attempted an onside kick, but Louisville recovered. (Replay seemed to show that Clemson had two players offside anyway, but that didn’t matter.)
Fans threw objects on the field to protest, but after the brief delay, Brown applied the dagger with his touchdown run.
The Tigers’ passing game had no answer for the Louisville defense, generating 219 yards. Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 32 of 55 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown, but most of that yardage came after the game was out of reach. TJ Moore had 63 yards receiving on five catches.
Mafah performed monstrously with the ball, gaining 171 yards on 30 carries. (Klubnik added 43 yards on 12 rushes.) But his two touchdowns came too late.
After falling behind 26-7, the Tigers had to throw the ball to catch up. Still, Clemson and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley didn’t show much urgency in pushing the pace and trying to score faster.
Brown finished with 151 yards rushing on 20 carries for Louisville, while Chris Bell added 47 yards on his lone rush. Quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 156 yards and completed 17 of 32 passes. Ja’Corey Brooks led the Cardinals in receiving with 49 yards on four receptions. And Brock Travelstead made four field goals, his longest being 49 yards.
The loss drops Clemson to third in the ACC behind Miami and SMU, both 5-0. Pittsburgh is right behind the Tigers at 3-1 after losing to SMU for its first loss in the conference.
