Cards Travel to Death Valley for Key ACC Contest against No. 11 Clemson
November 01, 2024 | Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Coming off a 31-27 come-from-behind win at Boston College, the Cardinals will play the second of three-straight road games when it faces  No. 11 Clemson on Saturday on Nov. 2. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Clemson is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Cardinals (5-3, 3-2 ACC) will face one of its stiffest challenges this season in a prime-time contest at Memoria Stadium, where the Cards are 0-4 all-time..
Clemson has won 22 straight home night games since 2013, the nation's second-longest active streak. Clemson has run out to a 5-0 start in ACC play after losing its season opener to Georgia.
"I have a ton of respect for coach (Dabo) Swinney and his team," UofL head coach Jeff Brohm said. "They've done a great job over the years. They've faced a little adversity the last couple of years, because they're used to being dominant, but he's stuck to his plan and has players that he recruited and developed. They have worked through a couple of ups and downs along the way and played a really tough opponent the first week. Really it was a close game until the second half when a few things didn't go their way."
The Cardinals are 0-8 all-time against the Tigers, but have lost a couple of one-score games at Clemson since joining the league in 2014. Louisville fell 23-17 in 2014 and 42-36 in 2016, and the Cards had chances to win both games on the last possession.
A sellout crowd of 81,000 is expected for the ACC game, and Brohm knows it will enhance the challenge for his football team..
"I think the atmosphere will be what college football is all about, I'm sure it'll be popping, and they'll be ready to play," Brohm said.. "It's good for our team to play in those environments. We've been able to do that on our home field, but now we're going on the road, just like at Notre Dame, and play in a great atmosphere in a big-time game. That's why you work year-round. I tell our guys all the time that you work all year for these moments so let's take advantage of it. Let's have a great week of practice and lay it all out there and go cut it loose come game time."
This will be the fourth ranked opponent the Cards have faced this season, losing the first three contests by a total of 21 points. Louisville dropped a 31-24 decision at Notre Dame and 34-27 to SMU and 52-45 to Miami.
Clemson is playing at a high level on the offensive side of the football. Led by quarterback Cade Klubnik, Clemson brings the No. 5 offense and the No. 4 scoring offense to the game. Klbnik has thrown for 1,836 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, and is playing at a high level.
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"When it comes to Clemson's quarterback, he's continued to progress," Brohm said. "Like every quarterback, he's had a couple of struggles along the way, which is good for quarterbacks, but he's over the hump now. I think he's thrown for 20 touchdowns, three picks, over 500 yards of offense five out of six games, or six out of seven, I'm not sure, but he's playing at a high level. They've built the offense around him and what his strengths are, and right now it's clicking on all cylinders."
Louisville got back on the winning side last Friday at Boston College when they battled back from a 20-0 deficit behind the play of quarterback Tyler Shough, who threw for 332 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
"Like I said, as far as wins, that was one I was very, very proud of our football team, because they hung in there and it wasn't easy," Brohm said. I've been through hard times before. It's not very fun, but you can't dwell on it. You've got to believe in what you're doing, believe in the solutions you have, and you've got to attempt to make them. We talk about this scenario quite a bit, because I understand in the game of football, at a competitive level, it's going to happen a lot - probably way more so than people think."
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