By Sean Labar
The Clemson Tigers entered Saturday as a legitimate contender for the College Football Playoff. But after three hours where Louisville clearly looked like the better team, the Cardinals walked into Death Valley and handed Dabo Swinney’s squad a 33-21 loss.
It marked the first time Clemson had ever lost to Louisville and the first time Swinney’s team has lost a home night game since 2013.
Now with two losses (Georgia and Louisville), Clemson looks like one of the teams that will miss the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The most shocking part of Saturday night’s loss is Clemson came into the game off a bye and had two weeks to prepare for the Cardinals. Yet still, the Tigers’ offense was good on paper, finishing with 450 total yards, and didn’t turn the ball over once, but couldn’t find the end zone early in the game.
The Louisville defense was impressive when it mattered the most. The Cardinal’s defensive line owned the line of scrimmage in the first half and their defensive backs shut down the Clemson wide receivers all night.
Louisville didn’t do anything overly special, yet still felt like they were in control from the opening whistle. The Cardinals relied on a run-heavy offensive approach and gashed the Clemson defense on the ground for 210 yards.
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Clemson Fans Lose Their Minds In The Fourth Quarter During Loss Vs. Louisville
In the fourth quarter, Clemson RB Phil Mafah finally found his rhythm and gave the Tigers life with a 3-yard touchdown run to make it a 26-13 game with just under six minutes remaining.
Fans took to social media criticizing Swinney when he opted to kick the extra point instead of going for two points, but the decision became clearer when the Tigers attempted an onside kick after the touchdown.
Louisville recovered the onside kick — and after a brief delay as the referees reviewed the play — the Clemson faithful became unhinged.
The broadcast crew didn’t hold back on calling out the Clemson fans, who began throwing trash, water bottles, and anything they could get their hands on onto the field.
Clemson fans threw debris onto the field after they were unhappy with a call.
Louisville scored on the very next play. pic.twitter.com/AI6SBYmRrM
— ESPN (@espn) November 3, 2024
“We got the crowd acting in a completely inappropriate way as now a lot of debris is being thrown on to the field,” the ESPN broadcast said. “And now the cheerleaders have to run the other way, not only to clear the field but to dodge water bottles thrown in their direction.“
On the very next play, Louisville cemented the ACC upset with a long touchdown run.
It appeared as if the Tigers’ fans were angry at the referees despite Louisville having a clear recovery — and two Clemson players were offsides anyway — but it’s safe to say the embarrassing reaction had more to do with what the loss means for the 2024 season.
After four appearances in the College Football Championship game in five seasons — with victories that claimed college football’s ultimate prize in 2016 and 2018 — this fan base believed Swinney had built the next dynasty.
But Clemson hasn’t reached the playoffs in the last four seasons, Swinney refuses to utilize the transfer portal and this feels like a program trending in the wrong direction.
And if Saturday night was evidence, the fan base is getting restless.
