Clemson players: No worries in slowing down Louisville offense

No team has gotten close to slowing down Lamar Jackson and Louisville’s offense this season, but No. 5 Clemson believes it has the pieces to keep the Heisman favorite in check Saturday night at Death Valley.

The third-ranked Cardinals lead the nation in yards per game with 682 and points per game at 63.5 entering the top 5 showdown, They have already easily handled one ACC giant in Florida State, topping the Seminoles 63-20, while outgaining FSU 530-284.

But Clemson does not fear Jackson and his 25 touchdowns through four games.

“We respect his game. We respect what he brings to the table. We know he’s a great athlete,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said. “We respect him but we’re not afraid of him. We don’t fear anybody.”

Tigers safety Jadar Johnson isn’t sure who Jackson is, or at least pretended to not know earlier this week.

When asked what kind of test Jackson would provide Clemson’s secondary, Johnson responded, “That’s who? Number 8?” He added that if Jackson tries to hurdle him, “I’m gonna body slam him.”

Johnson said Clemson iscapable of slowing down Jackson if it continues to perform like it has.

“I don’t really feel like we have to step out of our element or jump up another notch to stop him,” he said. “I feel like we have the tools and we have the skill set to limit him. I don’t see any worries with him.”

Even though most around the country believe the game will be a shootout, there is reason for Clemson to be confident in its defense.

The Tigers rank third in the nation in total defense and are coming off a dominant performance at Georgia Tech.

Clemson also faces one of the best offenses in the country every day in practice with Deshaun Watson and his talented group of playmakers.

“We’ll be ready and we’ll have a good game plan and we’ll be focused and ready to go,” linebacker Kendall Joseph said. “They’re not the Cowboys or something like that. You bring that same mindset and know that you practice against great talent every week.”

Joseph said Clemson’s goal is to be better than the 2014 Tigers defense that finished No. 1 in the country. Clemson can take a big step towards that goal this weekend.

“I know the 2014 team would’ve been ready and played really well against them, so that’s what we’re trying to do and make a statement,” he said.

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Clemson players: No worries in slowing down Louisville offense."