Takes a lot of guts to challenge Clemson at Memorial Stadium, better known as Death Valley. Typically averaging over 80,000 fans per game, the Tigers had not lost a night game there in more than 10 seasons.
Those with little faith of visiting teams are better off staying home. This includes University of Louisville football fans, who had reason to believe the Cardinals had no chance in hell of competing with Clemson this season. The Tigers were ranked No. 11 in the nation, their sole loss coming to second-ranked Georgia. They were 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cardinals, meanwhile, were 5.-3 overall, 3-2 in conference play.
Up until Saturday evening, 2024 had been pretty forgettable for UofL football. Every game a struggle lately, an unpredictable offense with a front line riddled by injuries, and a defensive unit that lacked focus, intensity or toughness. Ripe for an old-fashioned butt kicking, ready to be tossed on the woodpile of tattered expectations.
In other words, UofL entered the game as skewered meat, ready to be roasted. Clemson would have no mercy, the Cardinals would be a punching bag, the laughing stock for a capacity crowd of 80,446. Funny thing, though, someone forgot to tell the UofL players they were supposed to roll over and play dead.
When it was all over, Louisville had shocked the college football world, achieving its first ever win over Clemson by a convincing 33-21 score. They had naively entered the enemy fortress, miraculously escaping with a few scratches after administering a maj0r beating. Oh, ye of little faith, what you missed if you covered your eyes expecting the Cardinals to get manhandled.
“Really proud of our football team,” said UofL Coach Jeff Brohm. “I think our players and coaches worked hard all week; they were able to handle some adversity along the way. It hasn’t been perfect, hasn’t been easy, but we continue to grind away. A lot of guys have stepped up and played hard. To come on the road in this environment, against a really good team that has been hot, and just play hard the entire game.
“We made plays, we played with great tempo, we got stops, we were very sound in our defensive play. Just a lot of things went way better, so I was very proud of our team. This is a big win for our program.”
The Cardinals took control in the second quarter with a 92-yard drive capped by a 4-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Tyler Shough. Shortly after, Keyjuan Brown added a one-yard rushing score, giving Louisville a 17-7 lead at halftime.
Isaac Brown led the Louisville ground game with 151 yards on 20 carries, including a 45-yard touchdown burst, while Shough added 156 passing yards on 17 completions.
On defense, linebacker Stanquan Clark contributed nine solo tackles and 13 total, leading the unit that recorded five tackles for loss to keep the Clemson offense largely running in place. The Tigers managed 233 yards on the ground, compared to 213 for Louisville. But most of Clemson’s yards came after the game had already been decided, thanks to Ron English’s defense … a unit that took numerous giant steps forward in this game.
“They made all the critical plays, we didn’t make any,” said Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney. “This isn’t an easy place to win. They walked in here and kicked our tails all over the field.”
Not an upset, just a good old-fashioned beating. Most of the 80,000 Clemson fans were leaving the stadium with five minutes left in the game. They were witnesses to Jeff Brohm reshaping the future of UofL football.
“They were witnesses to Jeff Brohm’s CONTINUED reshaping the future of UofL football.” There, I fixed that for you.
Go Cards!