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 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After Phil Mafah scored a three-yard TD to make it a 26–13 game, Clemson opted 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 made the recovery. (Replay appeared to show that Clemson had two players offside anyway, but that didn’t matter.)
Fans threw objects onto 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 Louisville’s 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. T.J. Moore had 63 yards receiving on five catches.
Mafah had a monster performance running 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 needed to throw the ball to catch up. Yet Clemson and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley didn’t show much urgency by increasing the tempo and attempting to score faster.
Brown finished with 151 yards rushing on 20 carries for Louisville, with Chris Bell adding 47 yards on his lone rush. Quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 156 yards, completing 17-of-32 passes. Ja’Corey Brooks led the Cardinals in receiving with 49 yards on four receptions.
With the loss, Clemson drops 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 conference defeat.
