No. 11 Clemson takes first ACC defeat, showing lackluster offense in 33–21 loss to Louisville

No. 11 Clemson lost its first ACC game of the season, falling 33–21 at home to Louisville.

Isaac Brown ran for a 45-yard touchdown after the Cardinals recovered an onside kick attempt by Clemson to put the game away with 5:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.

After Phil Mafah scored a three-yard TD to make it a 26–13 game, Clemson opted to kick an extra point rather than attempt a 2-point conversion to cut the margin to 11 points. That decision made more sense when the Tigers attempted an onside kick, but Louisville made the recovery. (Replay appeared to show that Clemson had two players offside anyway, but that didn’t matter.)

Fans threw objects onto the field to protest but after the brief delay, Brown applied the dagger with his touchdown run.

With the loss, Clemson drops to third in the ACC behind Miami and SMU, both 5–0. Pittsburgh is right behind the Tigers at 3–1 after losing to SMU for its first conference defeat.

The Tigers’ passing game had no answer for Louisville’s defense, generating only 161 yards. Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 22-of-39 passes, but only for 116 yards and one touchdown. Mafah had a monster game running the ball, gaining 171 yards on 30 carries. (Klubnik added 43 yards on 12 rushes.) However, they couldn’t move down the field quickly that way.

After falling behind 26–7, the Tigers needed to throw the ball to catch up. Yet Clemson and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley didn’t show much urgency by increasing the tempo and attempting to score faster.