Clemson claims 42-36 win after Louisville comeback bid falls short
The frustration on Lamar Jackson’s face was difficult to miss.
He had thrown a perfect swing pass to receiver James Quick on the outside and all Quick had to do was get to the 2-yard line.
Instead, inexplicably, Quick ran toward the sideline. Instead of cutting back to juke a defender or lowering his shoulder, Quick stepped out of bounds at the 3-yard line and cost his team an opportunity to score.
The Cardinals turned the ball over on downs and Clemson defeated Louisville 42-36 in an epic back-and-forth showdown of the ACC’s top teams.
Clemson now has the inside track for the ACC Atlantic and perhaps the College Football Playoff. Louisville, which has been the surprise team through the first month of the season, could still make the playoff, but the road just got a bit more difficult.
Saturday’s game, which was billed as potentially one of the best of the short season, started slowly. The Clemson defense came out aggressive and held Jackson in check for much of the first half. The two teams exchanged punts through the first five series and then combined for five first-half turnovers. However, Clemson was able to find some footing and took 28-10 lead into the half.
The seemingly rattled Louisville team that ended the first half came out composed and focused in the second as they rattled off 26 consecutive points to take a 36-28 lead in the fourth quarter. During that comeback, the Cardinals’ defense forced the Tigers into four turnovers and a punt on their first five drives. It looked like fortune was going to smile on Louisville.
But the deficit seemed to spark something in Clemson, and the Tigers rallied with a touchdown with seven minutes remaining to cut the lead to 36-34. And then, after forcing a Louisville punt, scored again to make the score 42-36 with 3:14 remaining.
Louisville, behind Jackson’s dazzling moves, had no trouble moving the ball downfield to get in scoring position. However, a run for no gain and an incomplete pass to tight end Cole Hikutuni left the Cardinals looking at fourth-and-seven with 33 seconds remaining.
Jackson’s pass to Quick was the right read and the right play. However, Quick’s unawareness of the line to gain cost the Cardinals a shot at victory and staying the nation’s No. 3 team.
Louisville probably won’t be dinged too much by voters for this performance, but it’s certainly going to make winning the ACC difficult and, by extension, making the College Football Playoff, especially with Florida State’s loss to North Carolina earlier in the day.
For more Clemson news, visit TigerIllustrated.com.
For more Louisville news, visit CardinalSports.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
