Clemson Dominates in The Derby City
Last season, Clemson's national championship hopes were almost snuffed out by Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals. Saturday night, Louisville didn't challenge Clemson, as six different Tigers scored and Clemson's defense dominated in a 47-21 rout.
The national theme prior to the game was that Louisville had a Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and Clemson lost the majority of their playmakers since the last meeting.
However, time and time again, Clemson's weapons were on display and the Tigers' quarterback Kelly Bryant out shined Lamar Jackson in Papa John's Stadium. Bryant passed for a career-high 316 yards and rushed for another 26 yards and two touchdowns in his first road start.
Clemson defense would set the stage, forcing an opening drive three and out. Taking over at their own 21-yard line Kelly Bryant lead the Tigers on a 10 play drive in a hostile environment. Bryant would power in from eight yards out giving Clemson a 7-0 lead.
Brent Venables' defense would again force a three and out, but Clemson squandered any chances of extending their lead before Lamar Jackson would strike.
Backed up against their own end zone, Jackson led a six play 95-yard scoring drive. During the drive, Clemson's Tanner Muse was ejected for targeting, which would lead to the game tieing touchdown from Lamar Jackson to Charles Standberry.
In the second quarter, Greg Huegel would hit a 47-yard field goal, but a pre-snap penalty on Louisville would negate the try. Huegel's next attempt from 42-yards out was pushed wide right. Clemson would get the ball back and with 6:57 remaining before the half, Huegel would overcome his earlier miscue and drill a 31-yard field goal giving Clemson a 10-7 lead.
Clemson's defense forced another Louisville punt and the Tiger offense would take over at their own 10-yard line. Three plays later, Bryant hit Ray-Ray McCloud on a double move for a 79-yard touchdown giving Clemson a 16-7 after a missed extra point.
The Cardinals took over with 4:06 remaining in the half, but four plays and forty-nine seconds later, they would punt and Clemson's offense would capitalize. This time, Huegel would hit a career-long 49-yard field goal, leaving Clemson's lead at 19-7 with twenty-eight seconds left in the first half.
Last season, Clemson lead 28-10 at the half and Tiger fans watched Lamar Jackson slice the Clemson defense for twenty-six unanswered points. This year, Jackson wouldn't have an answer and Clemson would shut the door on the 2017 contest with a 26-0 run of their own.
In the third quarter, and up 19-7, Dorian O’Daniel intercepted Lamar Jackson and returned it forty-four yards for his first career score. Later, Kelly Bryant would punch in a one-yard quarterback keeper, extending Clemson's lead to 33-7.
Louisville would close the gap a bit, when Jackson found Jay Smith for a 36-yard touchdown to open the fourth quarter making it 33-14 Tigers. Clemson responded with an 11 play drive capped by a 39-yard scoring run by Adam Choice off the right side pushing the lead to 40-14.
The Cardinals would crack the end zone again before Tiger freshman Travis Etienne would showcase the power, speed, and burst that we have heard about all off-season on the next drive.
The Louisiana native took a handoff and hit the jets for an 81-yard scoring run, the longest by any Clemson back since CJ Spiller's 83-yard score against Auburn in the 2007 Chick-fil-a Bowl. It was also the longest run by a Clemson freshman since Bobby Gage's 88 yard run against Presbyterian in 1945.
With just six minutes left, and Clemson up 47-14, Louisville fans left their "Blackout" under a scoreboard that had been "lit up" all night by the second ranked team in America.
Clemson returns home for a matchup with Boston College next Saturday at 3:30 pm.
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