By Will Vandervort.

Each week we take a look back at what the Clemson Tigers did right and what they did wrong on the gridiron. So here is how No. 25 Clemson fared in its 23-17 victory over Louisville in Death Valley on Saturday.

Quarterbacks: D

The worst possible thing that could happen on Saturday did – Deshaun Watson went down with an injury and did not return. Why was that so bad? Cole Stoudt was not ready. The Clemson backup took very little reps in the week leading up to the game because of a left shoulder injury he suffered in last week’s win over NC State. It took Stoudt nearly three quarters to warm up, but before that he threw an interception—should have been picked off at least three other times, was sacked three times and was sometimes throwing into double coverage. It was obvious he was not ready. But in the end, he suffered through it and led the Tigers’ on three scoring drives, including a fourth-quarter drive that covered 68 yards in 12 plays that took five minutes and 34 seconds off the clock. Stoudt finished the day 20 off 33 for 162 yards. Before he broke his finger—which could keep him out for at least four weeks—Watson did not play well. He completed just 2 of 6 passes for minus-5 yards and was intercepted on what was a horrible throw.

Running backs: D

The Tigers rushed for just 72 yards and averaged just 2.2 yards per carry. It was not pretty, but they never abandoned the running game and it paid off in the fourth quarter. Adam Choice might be the back Clemson has been looking for because when the game was on the line, and the Tigers needed to eat clock, he ran hard and ran over a few guys as well. On the game’s last drive, he carried the ball eight times for 41 yards. He had just 20 yards on the previous 10 carries before that. After Choice no one else ran well. In fact, Watson was the second leading rusher with three carries for 10 yards and he left the game in the first quarter. Wayne Gallman rushed for just nine yards on four carries, while C.J. Davidson had eight yards on two carries.

Wide receivers and tight ends: D

Of course Louisville’s secondary had a lot to do with it, but Saturday’s game was not a good one for the wide receivers. They struggled to get off the line at times and could not get clear separation. There were missed blocks and there were a couple of dropped passes. In the end, Artavis Scott caught eight passes for 59 yards in the second half and Mike Williams and Adam Humphries made a couple of nice plays too in the second half. Tight end Jordan Leggett got involved as well as he finished the game with three catches for 43 yards.

Offensive line: C

Let’s be honest, no one expected Clemson to move the football in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line and with Deshaun Watson out with an injury, right? But the offensive line played extremely well on the Tigers’ 12-play, 68-yard drive that took 5:34 off the clock and left Louisville with 1:24 on the clock to win the game. Yes, they struggled in short yardage and yes they allowed their quarterback to be sacked three times and hit a lot more, but what did you expect when they were playing as a patch-work offensive line to begin with. I think this group deserves a little more credit than they are getting because they did improve as the game wore on and they were opening up holes for Choice on that final drive.

Defensive line: A

The defensive line once again did not disappoint. Grady Jarrett and DeShawn Williams dominated the inside as each recorded five tackles and a tackle for loss. Williams broke up the game’s final pass to preserve the victory. Defensive end Vic Beasley set the school’s all-time sack record with 29, while Corey Crawford played a big role in shutting down the Cardinals attempts to run the ball wide. Defensive end Tavaris Barnes picked up a loose ball and ran it into the end zone for the defense’s third straight game with at least a score of some sort.

Linebackers: A

Ben Boulware was all over the field, leading the team with 10 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack. He had a big stop on fourth-and-one early in the fourth quarter to stop a Louisville drive in Clemson territory and then he made another huge play on second-and-goal from the Clemson one on Louisville’s last drive that helped the Tigers hold off the Cardinals’ last attempt to steal a victory in Death Valley. Stephone Anthony had four tackles, but they were explosive ones and Kellen Jones came in and played well as a reserve.

Secondary: A

Yes, they gave up the big 73-yard play that allowed Louisville to have a chance to win the game, but they also were one of the main reasons why the Tigers had a chance to win the game in the first place. Clemson was very physical all afternoon with Louisville’s wide receivers and they covered them well most of the game. A couple of Clemson’s four sacks were coverage sacks. Safety Jayron Kearse had a great game with eight tackles and one tackle for loss, while cornerback Garry Peters’ strip-sack fumble, which led to Barnes’ touchdown, turned out to be the play of the game. Peters had six tackles and two tackles for loss overall.

Special teams: A

Adam Humphries opened things up with a 72-yard punt return – the first returned punt for a score since C.J. Spiller’s 77-yard return in 2009. He finished the game with 107 punt return yards. Kicker Ammon Lakip made all three field goals, including kicks of 45 and 40 yards. Punter Bradley Pinion averaged 41.9 yards per punt and had five punts drop inside the 20-yard line as he kept Louisville backed up all day. The coverage teams were also great as Louisville’s James Quick was bottled up all afternoon in the return game.

Coaching: C

Dabo Swinney admitted he made a couple of bad decisions that put his defense in bad shape and he said they were all on him. He also took blame for what happened at the end of the first half when Stoudt failed to throw the ball away as time was running down causing the Tigers to miss a sure three-point opportunity. He said his team overcame poor coaching. Offensive coordinator Chad Morris struggled with adjusting the offense without Watson for nearly the entire game, but he figured things out late as the offense scored nine-second half points on three sustained drives. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables called a great game as his defense held Louisville to 266 total yards and 3.9 yards per play. The Cardinals only averaged 1.4 yards per rush. As for the game’s final play, Venables coached his defense on Thursday on that play and it paid off as he had them ready for what turned out to be the most crucial play of the game.