LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The University of Louisville football team will make its fifth trip to Memorial Stadium at Clemson University this weekend.
In their first four visits, the Cardinals are 0-4, losing by six, six, 61 and 15.
In other words, in the early days Louisville had legitimate shots to take down some of Dabo Swinney's best teams — with Will Gardner and Lamar Jackson at quarterback.
Now, coach Jeff Brohm needs to show that the Cardinals can do it again against a Clemson team ranked No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association poll.
The Time: Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Memorial Stadium (81,473) , Clemson, South Carolina
How to Watch/Listen: TV — ESPN (Bob Wischusen, play by play; Louis Riddick, analyst; Kris Budden, sidelines); RADIO — Louisville Sports Network 93.9 FM (Paul Rogers, play by play; Craig Swabek, analyst; Jody Demling, sidelines).
The Line: Point spread Clemson favored by 10; Over/under total points scored 62.
The Last Time: The programs did not play last season. Clemson defeated Louisville, 31-16, two seasons ago at Clemson with D.J. Uiagalelei at quarterback.
The Series: All Tigers. Clemson has won all eight meetings.
The Records: Clemson lost its opening game to Georgia but has won six straight. Louisville is 5-3, but has won its last two road games against Boston College and Virginia. The teams have one common opponent — Virginia. The Cards won in Charlottesville, 24-20. Clemson won a home game against the Cavaliers, 48-31.
Player to Watch for Louisville: Quarterback Tyler Shough needs to deliver a big game. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck passed for 278 yards when the Bulldogs beat Clemson, 34-3 in the season opener. Virginia also threw for 278 while scoring 31 on the Tigers. Clemson ranks seventh in the ACC in pass defense. The Tigers have allowed 15 touchdown passes. Only SMU, Stanford and Wake Forest have allowed more.
Player to Watch for Clemson: Halfback Phil Mafah. For all the talk about Tigers' quarterback Cade Klubnik, Mafah has been Clemson's most consistent producer, running for 100 yards or more four times. He's averaged more than 20 carries the last three games and ranks third in the ACC in rushing with 682 yards. Mafah averages 6.5 yards per carry.
Sideline Storylines:
- Shough has thrown for 300 or more yards four times — against Jacksonville State, SMU, Miami and Boston College.
- Brohm is 8-1 at Louisville in games when the Cardinals have scored 30 or more points.
- Louisville has played 11 games decided by a touchdown or less with Brohm as the head coach, winning seven. Louisville is 2-3 in one-score games this season, playing five in a row.
- Clemson will be the third of four ranked opponent on the Cards' 2024 regular season schedule. They lost to Notre Dame and Miami. The Cards' last win against a ranked opponent was 23-0 over No. 20 Duke last season. Louisville will play No. 18 in their final home game in late November.
- Clemson has won 22 straight night home games, the second-longest streak in the nation. The Tigers' last home loss at night came in 2013.
- The Tigers have outscored their conference opponents by 23.6 points per game. Only Indiana and Army have a higher winning margin in league games this season.
- Clemson QB Cade Klubnik has thrown multiple touchdown passes in his last five games, the first Clemson quarterback to do that since Trevor Lawrence.
- The Tigers rank second (behind Miami) in the ACC in total offense at 490 yards per game but are seventh in total defense at 348.
The Quote: Swinney made certain to compliment Brohm's offense:
"They really do a great job putting pressure on you \offensively to have to match 'em, because they move the ball on everyone. To me, this is certainly the most complete and best offense we've seen since Georgia. The quarterback's a future pro, knows what the heck he's doing. They've got some really, really good skill — the best overall group of receivers since Georgia."
The Pick: Clemson 35, Louisville 20
Louisville Football Coverage:
- Against the Spread | Bozich & Crawford pick against Cards, Wildcats, split on Hoosiers
- BOZICH | ACC Football Power Rankings: Louisville's schedule toughest in league play
- CRAWFORD | Louisville's Brohm only the latest to deal with midseason opt-out; he's not alone
- BOZICH | Computer formulas say Louisville is Top 25 team; Can Cards still show it?
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