Clemson, SC – No. 9 Clemson shook off their first loss of 2022 to Notre Dame a week later as a well-balanced offense and stingy defense halted Louisville’s four-game winning streak, 31-16. Leading at halftime, 17-7, the replacement of LU QB Malik Cunningham (10 for 13, 75 yards) injured on the final play of the first half gave the Tigers a distinct advantage. Cunningham’s loss took away the Cardinal option to run the ball effectively from QB if needed (20 yards for Cunningham; -7 for Domann). Back-up Brock Domann came in with minimal experience to be effective immediately (13 for 23 passing, 175 yards, one TD, one INT). Clemson (9-1, 7-0) forced two turnovers in the second half and stopped two late drives on fourth downs.
Historical highlights
Tiger RB Will Shipley (19 for 97 yards, one TD, one fumble) recorded ESPN’s No. 2 of Top Ten plays of the day with a 25-yard TD run hurdling a would-be tackler standing basically upright. It extended the lead early in the second half. For collegefootballfan.com, we attended our 648th game since 1979 for the first time at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. We recorded it as our 78th FBS Stadium. Overall, we’ve now attended collegiate football games at 170 different stadiums among all divisions and neutral venues.
Pouncing Tigers
Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei (19 for 27 passing, 185 yards, one TD) took control to start the game guiding his team to a score on a 75-yard drive on 12 plays. He ran the ball in from the 11 to take an early lead. Later in Q1, the Clemson Tigers added to the lead with a 19-yard FG by BT Potter.
After Clemson forced Louisville (6-4, 3-4) to punt after two three-and-outs in the first, the Cardinals moved the football heading into the second. Tiyvon Evans put Louisville on the board with a 16-yard run to put the visitors to within three, 10-7. Exchanges of punts and a sack of Uiagalelei resulting in a fumble left the score intact late into the second.
Costly effort
Finally, Clemson got the ball rolling. While eating almost four minutes off the clock, their 80-yard drive got them down to the four. With 32 seconds left in the half, Uiagalelei connected with Antonio Williams on a slant pass to take a 17-7 lead before the half. However, the remaining time proved costly to the Cardinals. Cunningham got his team all the way to the Tiger 14 on the final play of the period with a 26-yard run. He went into the locker room injured and did not play in the second half.
Great trip, great time at Clemson with great friends
Our first trip to Clemson became a memorable one as my fellow Juniata friends and Alum, Dave Bender and Roger Arnold, both class of 80, and Dave’s son, AJ (Mt Aloysius alum), joined collegefootballfan.com as this week’s Guest Game Analysts (GGAs). Dave basically arranged our festivities through the entire weekend. Of course, he couldn’t have done it without his brother, Dick, who is Clemson assistant men’s basketball coach.
We were his guests not only at the football game, but also the evening before at the Clemson vs. South Carolina basketball game in Columbia, SC. In a tooth-and-nail battle down to the wire, the Tigers tied it 58-all on two free throws by Brevin Galloway with 7.8 ticks remaining. However, with 0.9 seconds, Gamecock Chico Carter, Jr, responded with a turnaround catch and shot to lift Carolina to a 60-58 win. A last-second, long, Tiger attempt caromed off the backboard as time expired.
We enjoyed tailgating in the shadows Clemson’s Memorial Stadium on our first trip there. While reminiscing about our days at Juniata, we took in the atmosphere at Clemson. We shared stores over the many years since we last saw each other. Sorry though, but we had to lament over our Alma mater’s 0-10 football season ending this day against 10-0 and D-3 play-off bound, rival, Susquehanna.
Dead-eye Dick!
Of course, Dave is an avid Clemson Tiger basketball fan, and he filled us in on a lot of hoop stories. One included his brother Dick’s career starting with his playing days at Western Maryland University (now McDaniel) before coaching at DePauw University. His free throw prowess at the D-3 school launched him into his coaching career. He hit on 123 of 136 FTs his senior year landing him at No. 3 in the nation in free-throw percentage. The leader requirement needs a minimum of only 50 attempts for top recognition. That year, the eventual FT champ shot only 52 that season to edge Dick despite more than double the attempts!
We look forward to following both the Tiger and Gamecock basketball programs during the 2022-23 season. Great time getting together with good friends once again. Dave, Roger, and AJ will look to join us at other football venues in the future.
Second-half surprises
Brock Domann unexpectedly started at QB for Louisville in the second half. The Cards gained only seven yards on three plays before punting. Clemson started deep from its own 15. They drove to the U of L 25 to set RB Will Shipley up for his ESPN Top Ten Moment. He raced up the middle and hurdled UL Safety MJ Griffin like a track star on his way to a 25-yard TD run. It was picture perfect! GGA Roger Arnold exclaimed, “That will be the play of the week!” It was picture perfect! Wish we had taken one.
Clemson now led, 24-7. With Domann warming up a little as QB, Louisville offense showed signs of life. They got as far as the CU three, but there, Wade Woodaz sacked Domann for ten yards. The Cardinals settled for James Turner’s 22-yard FG to trail, 24-10. The two teams exchanged fumbles before the final period.
With time running out, Louisville needed touchdowns, not field goals. One drive ended with an incomplete at the Tigers’ 25. Their next series halted with an INT by LB Barret Carter. Carter played an outstanding game for the Tigers defensively. The Sophomore had eight stops including two sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, and a pass knocked down. The ensuing possession resulted with Shipley fumbling. Once again, however, Louisville surrendered the ball on downs as Clemson held Louisville to four yards on four plays and took over at the UL 39.
Never give up
On one play, Phil Mafah (10 rushes for 106 yards and one TD) raced the length of the field to cap the Clemson scoring to lead 31-10 with 2:13 remaining. Give Louisville some credit. With Domann still under center, they fought to the end. After a sack by Carter, Domann fired a 31-yard scoring pass to Braden Smith as time expired. No extra point was tried. The purple and orange crowd on Military Appreciation Day celebrated the start of their one-game winning streak, 31-16.
ACC title: Clemson vs. North Carolina?
With two more games to go for Clemson, one left in the ACC, it looks like a good showdown looming for the ACC title in Charlotte with North Carolina (9-1, 6-0). No. 13 UNC hosts Georgia Tech and NC State to finish this season. If both schools win their remaining games, their lone losses would both only be against Notre Dame.
Next in Week Twelve!
Clemson entertains Miami (5-5, 3-3) next week in their ACC Atlantic Division finale. They remain here the week after for their traditional intrastate rivalry against the South Carolina Gamecocks (6-4, 3-4). Louisville hosts NC State (7-3,3-3) to battle for the best bowls available among the ACC contracts.
As for collegefootballfan.com, the luster is off the game we slated for next week. We get to see No. 1 Georgia. However, their opponent Kentucky (6-4,3-4) fell to Vanderbilt (4-6, 1-5) this past Saturday, 24-21. Unless the Wildcats were really looking past the Commodores to take on the Bulldogs, we don’t see much of a contest here. That Dawg defense plays awesome to say the least. We’ll go anyway hoping for a surprise effort, but not expecting an unexpected result.
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Ed. by Steve Koreivo, Author of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ‘em all! If you like this story, read all our tales when we saw all 120 FBS teams (at the time of publication) play for the first time. We also encourage you to submit a review when you do. Please click on the title or copy of the cover on our right sidebar to go to our Amazon page to buy and review. Think about the college football fans in your life who will enjoy reading about our unique adventure. Check out this chapter from Tales here. Thanks!
