Uiagalelei, Clemson grind out road win over Louisville. What we learned about Tigers
Clemson has had plenty of struggles this season, and playing on the road has been one of those obstacles.
The Tigers found some improvement in that category Saturday night by beating Louisville 30-24 at Cardinal Stadium. It took a fourth-quarter touchdown run from quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei a defensive stand to get the job done.
Uiagalelei, who was playing with a sprained PCL and wore a brace on his right knee, completed 18 of 30 passes with two touchdowns for 220 yards and ran for 12 more yards and a score to lead the Tigers to the victory.
Meanwhile, the Clemson defense kept the Cardinals out of the end zone on four tries in the last minute of the contest. Safety R.J. Mickens had a hand in three of those stops.
The Tigers (6-3, 5-2 ACC) are now 2-2 on the road, 2-3 away from Death Valley and bowl-eligible for the 17th straight year.
How the offense fared
Clemson’s first drive was arguably one of its best in terms of execution and big plays.
After Louisville scored first, Tigers running back Kobe Pace got things started with a 12-yard run. Uiagalelei threw a 17-yard pass to Joseph Ngata, then a 46-yard touchdown to Beaux Collins. The drive tied the game and took only 53 seconds off the clock.
Then, Clemson went cold. The Tigers followed with four empty drives, with the only points in the rest of the half coming on a 38-yard field goal from B.T. Potter.
In the third quarter, Clemson was stuffed on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line. The tides turned one quarter later when Uiagalelei found the end zone on an eight-yard, go-ahead rushing TD that put the Tigers back in front 27-24.
Bad luck Tigers
Clemson’s lineup was already without safety Tyler Venables and offensive lineman Will Putnam before the game started.
The Tigers then had four players leave with injuries, all during the second quarter — and only two returned. Cornerback Andrew Booth (stinger) was able to walk off the field on his own power. Uiagalelei suffered a sprained PCL less than five minutes into the second quarter but returned to play through it.
Running backs Will Shipley and Kobe Pace both sustained hits that sidelined them for the final few minutes of the first half. A hit on Shipley, who was back for the start of the third quarter, drew a targeting call and ejection on Cardinals linebacker Jack Fagot.
Pace (concussion) and Booth didn’t return to the game.
By the numbers
5 — Out of 13 third downs against Louisville, Clemson converted on three of them. The Tigers have struggled with third-down conversions all year. Coming into the contest, they had a 36.7% third-down conversion rate, which includes converting on third down 30.19% of the time on the road or in a neutral site.
115 — In one half, Clemson gave up 115 rushing yards to Louisville, a season high, and 50 more yards than the Tigers gave up to Florida State the week before. Cardinals quarterback Malik Cunningham outran the bulk of Clemson’s defenders, who struggled to bring the signal-caller down. Cunningham, who had a brief hiatus Saturday with an undisclosed injury, ran for 56 rushing yards and one touchdown after two quarters. He ended the game with 134 rushing yards.
3 — After struggling against Florida State the week prior, BT Potter was able to get back to his kicking ways and made three field goals for the Tigers. His first came from 38 yards out with 5:44 left in the second quarter to bring the Tigers within a touchdown 17-10. He then sent a 34-yard kick through the uprights to bring Clemson within four points 24-20 at the 10:17 juncture of the final frame. His last make was a 40-yarder that gave the Tigers its final 30-24 advantage.
Clemson football schedule: Next game
Who: UConn (1-8) at Clemson (6-3)
When: Noon Saturday, Nov. 13
Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson
TV: ACC Network
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 10:58 PM.
