A win over Clemson for hot Louisville would be 'another step in the right direction'

No. 10 Clemson (8-1, 6-0) is back at home in Death Valley on Saturday to face Louisville (6-3, 3-3). 

Last season, the Tigers won a down-to-the-wire contest in Louisville, KY by the score of 30-24.

Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield is in his fourth season but will face Clemson for only the third time. In 2019, his team was clobbered 45-10 at home and the 2020 game, originally scheduled to be played in the upstate, was removed from the revamped COVID-19-influenced schedule. 

Here is everything Satterfield said about the Tigers during his weekly press conference on Tuesday:

Opening statement: 

"Going into this week, you’ve got Clemson, who is one of the top teams in the country year in and year out. Coach Swinney has done an unbelievable job down there at Clemson. It seems like they just continue to reload. They’re coming off a tough loss last week against Notre Dame. Notre Dame played a great game. If you go back and watch it, Notre Dame is the same team that lost to Marshall and Stanford at home and then played outstanding against Clemson. Really looking at the game, they won it in the trenches as well with their offensive and defensive line. Very impressed with what Notre Dame was able to do. You look at that game, and you can go look at what the trend has been, which is turnovers and big plays. They give up a blocked punt for a touchdown in the first quarter and other than that, it’s just a battle the whole first half essentially. And then a pick-six that goes 95 yards back the other way and an interception that gets to about the 12-yard line. That’s the difference in the game really. It got out of hand from that point. You can’t turn the ball over in this day and age of football. You have to expect to go out there and play well, I don’t care who you are playing against. That will be a huge thing. We know we’re going to a hostile environment this week down at Clemson. That’s one of the better home-field advantages and venues to play. It’s going to be loud, crazy, all of those things. They have a 38-game home winning streak. We know that. It’s obviously a tough place to go play and try to get a win. So, we’ll have to prepare for that, particularly on offense. We’ve got to be ready for that.

"You look at their team. Defensively, they’re still outstanding on the strength of their team up front on the defensive line - two deep. They’re all really good players, high draft pick players. Their linebackers, #22 [Trenton Simpson] is an outstanding player. Last year, he was playing on the outside, this year he’s moved on the inside. He can really run, he’s strong. And then they have two linebackers who are sophomores, younger kids that are really good as well. They can play.

"Offensively, people have been talking about their offense. I still think they have a lot of weapons. [Will] Shipley is an outstanding player. He’s got tremendous speed. He’s their return guy. He can catch the ball in the backfield. They can do everything with him. I think their offensive line is playing better this year compared to last year when you’re looking at their team. Receiver-wise, it’s a little bit different with their makeup and what they’ve had. Their go-to guy is a freshman, #0 [Antonio Williams] is an outstanding player. We can talk about their quarterbacks, both of those guys that have played are very, capable. DJ [Uiagalelei] has one of the strongest arms in the country. I think he has had a really good year compared to last year. He bounced back this year, I know people want to talk bad about him. He can run. He can throw. He can do it all. He’s a really, really talented player. I think people love to talk about it and try to create some kind of controversy when it comes to that, but he’s an outstanding player.

"We have our work cut out for us going against this team. We know we’re going to have to play a great game. We’ve got to win the turnover margin. We’ve got to win the big play side of the ball, on both sides of the ball. We should be ready to go. We came out of the game pretty healthy. Malik [Cunningham] did ding his hand, his non-throwing hand. But, he’s fine. He’s going to be practicing this week. He’ll be out there today. Luke Kandra should be back to practicing this week. He’s an offensive lineman - one that we’ve missed the last two weeks. He’ll still be day-to-day, but he will be out there practicing this week, which is a great sign to be able to get him back out. I think he’s been playing at a high level. Other than that, everyone else is ready to go. So, we’re excited about it.”

Since falling to 2-3 after a loss at Boston College (33-34) on Oct. 1, Louisville has defeated UVA (34-17), Pittsburgh (24-10), Wake Forest (48-21), and James Madison (34-10). 

Satterfield on how different the team’s psyche has been from a month ago and if he is worried about it changing after facing Clemson or someone else: 

"We’re certainly playing with a lot more confidence as a football team overall compared to a month ago. I think once you get after the first part of the season, you kind of get a good identity of your team. You kind of know where your strengths and weaknesses are after the first four or five games. We were inconsistent early on playing, and I think over the last four games, we’ve really found some consistency. That’s been the biggest key, and when you do that, then you get confidence. It certainly still hadn’t been easy, we’re still battling every game. We’re still going out there and it’s taking four quarters. It’s taken a lot of time to continue to stick with it. Our guys have been able to do that, and we do. We have a lot of confidence. We’re going to play a really good team right here in a hostile environment. But we got to do what we’ve been doing the last four games and not worry about who we’re playing and try to elevate our game a little bit more and just continue to get better."

The Cardinals have two victories over two teams, who have spent time in the top 25. They have the win over then No. 10 Wake Forest and beat No. 22 UCF  (20-14), though unranked when they met in September. 

On the impact a win over the Tigers could have for the program:

"Huge, obviously. To beat a team so recognizable like Clemson - that’s won national championships - that has won 38 straight at home, certainly, the future of your program looks really good. It impacts recruits and impacts the future that way, which is huge obviously. It also just proves that we’re headed in the right direction. Just to know that, hey, we’re not there yet. But we want to continue to get better and better as a football team. This would be another step in the right direction."

In last season's matchup at Cardinals Stadium, Louisville led until quarterback D.J. Ugialelei scored from 8 yards out to give Clemson its first lead, 27-24, with 4:12 remaining in the game. 

On whether he remembers last season's loss to Clemson more than some wins:

"Yeah, down inside the five, and four plays to score, yeah it sticks with us big time. It’s one of those games that you certainly had an opportunity to go in and get in there. If we scored, they still had some time, but who knows what would have happened. Offensively, it just really haunts you not being able to score right there. So, there are certain games that stand out more than others. That’s certainly one that stands out and probably will, for a long time. Hopefully, we get that bad taste out of our mouths."

Trailing 30-24 with 2:09 left in the game, Louisville drove 71 yards to the Clemson two-yard line with four downs to score a touchdown. But after rushes of zero, negative three, and three yards, quarterback Malik Cunningham was sacked by linebacker James Skalski to end the drive. 

On if the close loss, gives confidence that they can play with the Tigers:

"Yeah, I think so, it’s one thing that came away from that. They’re obviously a top team last year as well. To be able to go toe-to-toe and hang in there and to play and to have a chance at the very end. I thought our guys fought great in that game. We just got to hopefully build off that. I think it’s a great opportunity, it’s another chance to go play with one of the top teams in the country. It’s another ranked team and we’ve played a bunch of those this year. I really believe our guys will be unfazed by all of that and just go out there and play their game. Go out there and continue to do what they’ve been doing the last four games to have success that we’ve been able to have."

Satterfield was last in Death Valley on Sept. 12, 2015, as the head coach of Appalachian State (2013-2018). Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (248 passing yards and three touchdowns) led the Tigers to a 41-10 victory over the Mountaineers. 

On what he remembers from the atmosphere at Clemson and what he expects on Saturday: 

"It’s loud, it’s packed, and there’s not going to be an empty seat in that place. You’re going to be on the hill. They turned the speakers up wide open. They also scream loud. So, yeah, it’s a hostile environment for sure and then they have a lot of talented players on the field. They are used to winning. All those things combined are the reason they’ve won 38 in a row there. Certainly, it is a home-field advantage for them, but we have been in Syracuse, Central Florida. We’ve been in some hostile environments this year. Hopefully, we’ve learned from that because you just have to concentrate. That’s the bottom, you have to concentrate on what you have to do between the lines, and on that field and tune out all that stuff that’s outside of that. At this point of the season, hopefully, we’re fully aware of that."