Following the season-opening loss to Georgia, Clemson has gotten red hot while reeling off six consecutive wins. But so far this season, the Bulldogs are the only team Clemson has faced that currently has a winning record.
That will change tonight when the 11th-ranked Tigers (6-1, 5-0 ACC) take on Louisville (5-3, 3-2) at Death Valley, and regardless of Clemson’s schedule to this point, ESPN analyst Pat McAfee says we are seeing “exactly” what many expected from Dabo Swinney’s team.
“When you talk about this Clemson team, I think what they’ve been since that Georgia game – and I know they haven’t played anybody of any elite ranking or anything like that — but this is exactly what I think a lot of people have expected out of a Dabo Swinney team,” McAfee said during ESPN’s College GameDay show Saturday morning.
Offensively, led by key cogs like quarterback Cade Klubnik and running back Phil Mafah, Clemson’s offense has tallied 500 yards in five of the first seven games of a season for the first time in program history, while the Tigers enter the week riding a program-record streak of six consecutive games averaging 6.5 or more yards per play.
“Now their defense is not as dominant as it has been in the past, but Cade Klubnik is playing his best ball,” McAfee said. “They’re averaging like 500 yards a game or something like that. Mafah goes Mafah crazy. Obviously (Louisville head coach Jeff) Brohm knows that, Clemson knows that.
“But everything is still in front of Clemson whenever we thought it was potentially over and they weren’t as good as they once were (after the Georgia game). Remember, (Swinney) doesn’t use the transfer portal. He didn’t get rid of everybody. He didn’t just reboot. Nobody knew if Clemson was going to be able to be what they are – they are right now. Today is a big one.”
There are three quarterbacks in the ACC with 20 or more touchdown passes, and tonight’s game will feature two of them in Clemson’s Klubnik and Louisville’s Tyler Shough.
ESPN analyst Desmond Howard expects to see a shootout between the Tigers and Cardinals, but believes Clemson will ultimately come out on top.
“I like Louisville’s offense because they’re so balanced. So far this season, they’ve run the ball 244 times for 14 touchdowns, and they’ve passed the ball 246 times for 18 touchdowns. So, their offense is very balanced,” Howard said during College GameDay.
“But this is their seventh game in a row, and this is their third road game in four weeks. I do think that they’re going to be in a shootout with Clemson, just like they were against Miami, but I think it’s just going to be too much for them late in the game, and Clemson’s going to win.”
The Tigers are a 10-point favorite entering tonight’s game, which will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised on ESPN.
–Photo courtesy Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!
