No. 10 Clemson scored a touchdown on its first and final possessions of the first half to take a 10-point lead into the locker room against Louisville at Death Valley.

The Tigers led 17-7 at the break, thanks to a touchdown run by DJ Uiagalelei, a touchdown pass from the junior quarterback and a field goal by B.T. Potter.

Clemson’s defense, meanwhile, allowed one touchdown on six Louisville possessions and forced the Cardinals to punt four times in the first 30 minutes.

Uiagalelei went 14-of-20 passing for 155 yards, rushed for 28 yards on nine carries and had two total touchdowns as the Tigers posted 255 total yards of offense, including 158 in the first quarter.

Louisville managed just 54 yards in the opening quarter and finished the first half with 160. Cardinals quarterback Malik Cunningham, playing with a bandaged left hand, went 10-of-13 for 75 yards in the first half and was slow to get up after a 26-yard run that concluded the second quarter.

After struggling the past two games and failing to score until the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s loss at Notre Dame, Clemson’s offense made a statement on its first drive against Louisville.

Even with a couple false start penalties and a near interception on Uiagalelei’s second pass of the game, the Tigers marched 75 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown on their opening possession.

Uiagalelei made a defender miss in the open field en route to an 11-yard touchdown run less than five minutes into the game after beginning the drive with two straight runs for 11 yards. He delivered an excellent throw to Joseph Ngata near the sideline for a 24-yard completion on third-and-15 and finished the possession 3-of-5 passing for 41 yards, to go with four carries for 25 yards.

Following back-to-back three-and-outs forced by Clemson’s defense on Louisville’s first two possessions, the Tigers got the ball back and tacked on to their lead with a field goal on their third drive, which spanned 66 yards on eight plays.

B.T. Potter booted a 19-yard field goal with 2:25 left in the first quarter to make the score 10-0 in favor of the Tigers. Freshman receiver Antonio Williams, who returned a punt 13 yards to set up Clemson at its own 32-yard line, had a 36-yard reception from Uiagalelei that moved the ball to Louisville’s 20 and ultimately led to Potter’s field goal.

Louisville didn’t pick up a first down until less than two minutes remaining in the opening period, but it was a big one — Jawhar Jordan ran left side for a 44-yard gain to Clemson’s 38-yard line, and a couple plays later, Cardinals receiver Tyler Hudson broke a tackle for a 19-yard catch and run to the Tigers’ 24 for another first down that closed out the first frame.

Two plays into the second quarter, Louisville’s Tiyon Evans ran through a sizeable hole on the right side of the offensive line for a 16-yard touchdown that capped a seven-play, 80-yard drive that cut the Cardinals’ deficit to 10-7 at the 14:17 mark of the second quarter.

Clemson’s offense was unable to get much going after Potter’s field goal until it started moving the ball downfield on its second possession of the second quarter. However, after advancing the ball to Louisville’s 36-yard line, Uiagalelei was sacked by linebacker Yasir Abdullah for a loss of 10 yards on a third-and-14 play and lost a fumble in the process that was recovered by defensive lineman YaYa Diaby at the Louisville 46.

It marked Uiagalelei’s third straight game with at least one turnover and his fifth turnover overall in the last three games.

Louisville was unable to capitalize on the change of possession, though, and opted to punt on fourth-and-6 from Clemson’s 37.

The Tigers got the ball back at their own 20 after a touchback and capped off the first half with a touchdown, going 80 yards on 10 plays in 3:57.

Williams caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Uiagalelei on a slant route, extending Clemson’s lead to 17-7 with 32 seconds left in the half.

Louisville will receive the second-half kickoff.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

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