Photo by © Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Clemson Football
Swinney expects "incredible battle" with Louisville
September 13, 2017
941
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney knows what to expect on Saturday night in Louisville. As Clemson shifts focus towards the Cardinals, Swinney knows it will be a hard fought game. “Got a lot of respect for Louisville and their team. We've had some incredible battles with them, and I don't expect this one to be any different,” Swinney said during his Tuesday press conference.
In terms of close ballgames opening a series, we turned to Clemson historian Sam Blackman who said, "It's hard to really come across anything like it. The first couple of times we played Virginia Tech it was nip and tuck." Those match ups took place at the turn of the century. That would be the turn from the 1800's to the 1900's. It's safe to say this series is off to a smoking hot start.
Thinking back to the first match up in Death Valley, a 23-17 Clemson victory, the Tigers managed to escape with a win without scoring an offensive touchdown. The Tigers two touchdowns came on an Adam Humphries punt return and a Grady Jarrett fumble recovery for a score. Clemson's Ammon Lakip would add three field goals. Incredibly that would be enough to propel the Tigers to their first win in the series.
Late in the fourth quarter, down 23-17 and seemingly running out of time, Louisville's Will Gardner hit James Quick for 73 yard strike. If speedy freshman safety Jayron Kearse had not been lined up incorrectly the play probably goes for a score. Instead Kearse used his speed and a bit of dumb luck to track down Quick and force him out at the eight yard line.
At that moment, believing they had secured a win, several media members from Louisville began to celebrate in the press box. If you didn't know, this is highly frowned upon and is something that is considered unacceptable.
Clemson's defense would hold the Cardinals shot after Deshaun Williams batted down the final pass of the night and Clemson would escape with the win.
The second game in this series would be twice as close as Clemson traveled to Louisville and escaped once again. The Tigers were led by Deshaun Watson who threw two touchdown passes while running back Wayne Gallman rushed for 139 yards on the night.
Clemson would extend their lead to 20-10 with just under 10 minutes remaining, but a 100 yard kick return by Traveon Samuel would trim the margin and raise the blood pressure of Clemson fans in the Derby City.
The Tigers would manage the final few minutes of the game and a defensive stand late secured another Clemson win 20-17.
Last season's game would only add to story line as Clemson's Deshaun Watson and future Heisman winner Lamar Jackson would play a game of 'Can you top this' in Memorial Stadium.
The Tigers would lead 28-10 at the half, but from that point forward, Jackson would showcase himself in Death Valley and the rest of college football. The Cardinals would score 16 unanswered points in the third quarter to trim the Tiger lead to 28-26.
Bobby Petrino's squad wasn't done, as Louisville would score another 10 points on their way to a 36-28 lead seizing the momentum with just 7:52 remaining. Think about that, after struggling out of the gate, Lamar Jackson lead his team on a 26-0 run inside Death Valley. That just doesn't happen.
However, Clemson's field general Deshaun Watson wasn't going to be denied at home. On the ensuing kickoff, Artavis Scott put together a nice 77 yard return and sparked a nervous crowd. When the Clemson drive was capped, with a Mike Williams 20 yard touchdown reception, a mere forty-seven seconds had expired from the clock.
Clemson's defense would step up and force a Louisville punt. Down 36-34, Deshaun Watson hit Jordan Leggett on a thirty-one yard score. The two would connect again on the two-point conversion and Clemson would escape the Cardinals by a score of 42-36.
Three games.
Fifteen points.
These game have potentially been the difference in two conference championships, two college football playoff births, two national championship games, and a national title.
Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose- but it has rarely been this close.
In terms of close ballgames opening a series, we turned to Clemson historian Sam Blackman who said, "It's hard to really come across anything like it. The first couple of times we played Virginia Tech it was nip and tuck." Those match ups took place at the turn of the century. That would be the turn from the 1800's to the 1900's. It's safe to say this series is off to a smoking hot start.
Thinking back to the first match up in Death Valley, a 23-17 Clemson victory, the Tigers managed to escape with a win without scoring an offensive touchdown. The Tigers two touchdowns came on an Adam Humphries punt return and a Grady Jarrett fumble recovery for a score. Clemson's Ammon Lakip would add three field goals. Incredibly that would be enough to propel the Tigers to their first win in the series.
Late in the fourth quarter, down 23-17 and seemingly running out of time, Louisville's Will Gardner hit James Quick for 73 yard strike. If speedy freshman safety Jayron Kearse had not been lined up incorrectly the play probably goes for a score. Instead Kearse used his speed and a bit of dumb luck to track down Quick and force him out at the eight yard line.
At that moment, believing they had secured a win, several media members from Louisville began to celebrate in the press box. If you didn't know, this is highly frowned upon and is something that is considered unacceptable.
Clemson's defense would hold the Cardinals shot after Deshaun Williams batted down the final pass of the night and Clemson would escape with the win.
The second game in this series would be twice as close as Clemson traveled to Louisville and escaped once again. The Tigers were led by Deshaun Watson who threw two touchdown passes while running back Wayne Gallman rushed for 139 yards on the night.
Clemson would extend their lead to 20-10 with just under 10 minutes remaining, but a 100 yard kick return by Traveon Samuel would trim the margin and raise the blood pressure of Clemson fans in the Derby City.
The Tigers would manage the final few minutes of the game and a defensive stand late secured another Clemson win 20-17.
Last season's game would only add to story line as Clemson's Deshaun Watson and future Heisman winner Lamar Jackson would play a game of 'Can you top this' in Memorial Stadium.
The Tigers would lead 28-10 at the half, but from that point forward, Jackson would showcase himself in Death Valley and the rest of college football. The Cardinals would score 16 unanswered points in the third quarter to trim the Tiger lead to 28-26.
Bobby Petrino's squad wasn't done, as Louisville would score another 10 points on their way to a 36-28 lead seizing the momentum with just 7:52 remaining. Think about that, after struggling out of the gate, Lamar Jackson lead his team on a 26-0 run inside Death Valley. That just doesn't happen.
However, Clemson's field general Deshaun Watson wasn't going to be denied at home. On the ensuing kickoff, Artavis Scott put together a nice 77 yard return and sparked a nervous crowd. When the Clemson drive was capped, with a Mike Williams 20 yard touchdown reception, a mere forty-seven seconds had expired from the clock.
Clemson's defense would step up and force a Louisville punt. Down 36-34, Deshaun Watson hit Jordan Leggett on a thirty-one yard score. The two would connect again on the two-point conversion and Clemson would escape the Cardinals by a score of 42-36.
Three games.
Fifteen points.
These game have potentially been the difference in two conference championships, two college football playoff births, two national championship games, and a national title.
Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose- but it has rarely been this close.
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