Louisville Defeats Clemson, 33-21
CLEMSON, S.C. – Louisville (6-3, 4-2 ACC) used scores on five consecutive drives to pull ahead of No. 11/8 Clemson (6-2, 5-1 ACC) en route to a 33-21 win at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Running back Phil Mafah tallied a season-high 199 yards of total offense, including a season-high 171 yards and a pair of scores on 30 carries.
Clemson outgained Louisville 450-366, piled up 31 first downs, and held the ball for 37:52 on 101 offensive plays, including seven drives of 10 or more plays. Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 33 of his 56 passing attempts for 228 yards and a touchdown and ran for 43 yards on 12 carries. Wade Woodaz led the Tigers defensively with 11 tackles as the Tigers fell to 8-1 in their all-time series against the Cardinals.
After two scoreless drives by the Tigers, Louisville kicker Brock Travelstead opened the scoring with a 21-yard field goal to put the Cardinals up 3-0. Clemson’s offense responded as Klubnik connected with Antonio Williams for a 12-yard passing touchdown to complete an 11-play scoring drive. The score going into the second quarter stood at 7-3.
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead in the second quarter on a rushing touchdown by quarterback Tyler Shough. Clemson attempted to tie the game at 10-10 on a 49-yard field goal attempt by Nolan Hauser, but the kick was blocked. Louisville running back Keyjuan Brown capped the ensuing six-play drive with a touchdown run to give Louisville a 17-7 lead at halftime.
Clemson kept the Cardinals out of the end zone in the third quarter but allowed three Travelstead field goals, which pushed the score to 26-7 at the end of the third quarter.
Clemson cut the lead in the fourth quarter on a 61-yard, 16-play drive ending in Mafah’s first touchdown run. After Louisville recovered an onside kick attempt, Isaac Brown rushed 45 yards for a touchdown to push the Cardinals’ lead to 33-14. Mafah added his second rushing touchdown with 2:07 remaining in the game, completing a 75-yard, 12-play drive for the Tigers to bring the final score to 33-21.
During the game, Clemson honored its nine new Athletic Hall of Fame members, including football’s Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins.
