Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and Clemson certainly had luck on its side Friday night at No. 20 Louisville.

Despite a slew of miscues, the Tigers (5-5, 4-4 ACC) escaped L&N Stadium in Louisville with a 20-19 victory over the Cardinals (7-3, 4-3).

The mistakes piled up for both teams during the game. But fortunately for the Tigers, their mistakes ultimately didn’t cost them in the end.

There were five dropped passes offensively and too many missed tackles defensively. Offensively, Clemson went 1-for-13 on third downs and didn’t convert a single third down until the fourth quarter. Defensively, the Tigers allowed 171 rushing yards, including 100 in the third quarter alone, and 385 yards overall.

There was a disastrous sequence at the goal line early in the fourth quarter where Clemson fumbled twice on back-to-back plays and came away with no points. There was a botched snap on a punt late in the fourth quarter, where Clemson punter Jack Smith bobbled the snap and couldn’t get the punt off, putting Louisville in prime position for a go-ahead score.

But at the end of the day, Clemson came away with the victory, thanks in large part to good fortune. Louisville missed an extra point in the first half and then missed two fourth quarter field goals, including one with under two minutes left that likely would have won it for the Cards.

Clemson also benefitted from a bunch of Louisvillle penalties — 10 for 98 yards, to be exact — and a turnover in the first half that set up a Tiger touchdown.

At the end of the day, a win is a win, no matter how you get it, and the Tigers will certainly take this one in a season where not much has gone their way.

Clemson now needs just one more win to become bowl eligible and keep its bowl-eligibility streak alive. Coming into this season, Clemson had been bowl eligible for 26 consecutive seasons dating to 1999 – tied for the third-longest streak in the nation.

The Tigers will try to pick up that win on Saturday, Nov. 22 when they play Furman at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. on The CW