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In a game where Clemson went 1-for-13 on third down, fumbled twice on the goal line, and nearly gave the game away on a botched late snap, the Tigers still found a way to leave L&N Stadium with a 20-19 win over No. 19/21 Louisville.
For Dabo Swinney, the explanation was simple. “Special teams won this game. Special teams won it.”
The Tigers leaned on two more pressure kicks from Nolan Hauser, a poised emergency play by punter Jack Smith, and a coverage unit that allowed zero return yards to overcome their own self-inflicted chaos and move to 5-5 overall, 4-4 in ACC play.
Hauser opened the scoring with a 27-yard field goal on Clemson’s opening 12-play drive and later drilled a 48-yarder midway through the third quarter to cut Louisville’s lead to 16-13. Swinney made sure to emphasize the significance of Hauser’s consistency, saying, “A couple more field goals, that’s ten in a row. That’s ten in a row for Hauser. Ten in a row.”
In a one-point game that saw Louisville miss an extra point and two fourth-quarter field goals—from 50 and 48 yards—Hauser’s perfection was essential.
Swinney didn’t dismiss the idea that Clemson’s rush affected the Cardinals’ misses. Asked if Clemson generated pressure on the kicks, he said, “I’ll have to watch the tape, but they were coming off the ball with everything they had. So I know he felt some heat. We had some favor in our way tonight.”
Smith’s contributions were less visible but arguably just as important.
With Clemson protecting the 20-19 lead in the final minutes, a low snap threatened to become a catastrophic turnover. Instead, Smith secured the ball, absorbed the loss, and allowed Clemson’s defense to play the next snap.
One bad move by Smith and a potential scoop-and-score scenario would have absolutely been in play.
“This kid has been an MVP for us this year,” Swinney said. “Not one nice word was said about Jack Smith in the offseason. Nothing. He has been amazing all year. That play he made tonight? He didn’t make it worse. He just covered the ball and gave us a chance to play defense.”
In addition, Smith pinned Louisville inside the 20 four times and completely neutralized their return game: “Four of five inside the 20… zero return yards. Awesome job placing the ball.”
In the middle of all the special-teams chaos came one of the night’s most human moments. Long snapper Philip Florenzo, who skipped the snap back to Smith, thought his night was over. Swinney made sure it wasn’t.
“My heart was breaking for Flo,” he said. “We don’t have a more Clemson guy than Florenzo. He’s made one bad play in five years.”
When Clemson needed to punt one last time, Florenzo assumed someone else would go in. Swinney told him otherwise: “I said, oh no, you're going back in there. There ain't nobody I believe in more than Florenzo. I said you're going back in there and you're going to throw a freaking dart.” And he did—delivering a perfect snap under pressure to help seal the win. Swinney said he was “so thankful that the good Lord worked it out for him to go back out there… because that guy deserves it.”
Those special teams moments complemented a career night from Adam Randall, who provided Clemson’s only touchdowns and the biggest offensive spark of the evening.
Randall rushed for 105 yards and two scores on 15 carries and added 27 receiving yards. His 46-yard burst up the middle and down the right sideline set up his game-winning touchdown, a one-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal with 7:16 to play.
Randall also capitalized on Avieon Terrell’s strip-and-recovery late in the first half, scoring from 25 yards out on the next play to give Clemson a 10-9 halftime lead.
Swinney didn’t hesitate to connect Randall’s emergence to offseason conversations about the running back position.
“That’s why we didn’t go to a portal and get it back because we had Adam Randle,” he said. “That guy deserves everything. He’s amazing. He battled back, and we got it rolling. He’s been a warrior all year.”
The takeaway was bigger than the box score for Swinney or the mistakes Clemson will revisit on film. It was about the overlooked unit that kept the Tigers afloat. “Special teams won this game. Special teams won it,” he said again. And on a night when Clemson needed every hidden yard, every clean operation, and every ounce of poise, that statement was undeniably true.
