The Clemson Tigers football team returns to Death Valley this weekend after their second, and last bye week of the season. The stretch run is here. Five more games in November before the post-season, and standing in their way is the enigma that is, the Louisville Cardinals.
It was a nice visit home for Tony Elliott as the Tigers got a big victory against the Virginia Cavaliers two weeks ago. A late, garbage-time touchdown for the Cavs meant that the Tigers did not cover the 20 point spread. Good for Coach Elliott’s team not giving up and playing hard until the final whistle.
This week, Head Coach Jeff Brohm and his Cardinals come to Clemson for an evening in the Valley. Louisville started the season hot before going on a little bit of a skid. They righted the ship, somewhat, last weekend eeking out a victory against a feist Boston College team on Friday night in Chestnut Hill.
Here is your preview of Clemson’s Week 10 Opponent, the Louisville Cardinals.
Louisville Cardinals (5-3 overall; 3-2 ACC)
Head Coach: Jeff Brohm (2nd Season)
Location: Death Valley, Clemson, SC
Time: 7:30 PM
Wins against: Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Boston College
Losses against: Notre Dame, SMU, Miami
Offense
Offensive Coordinator – Brian Brohm (2nd Season)
In his second season in Louisville, Brohm has the Louisville offense humming. Led by a super senior quarterback, who’s likely an NFL level talent, and adding some pieces through the transfer portal, as well as upper level recruits, Brohm has a lot of tools in the shed.
Louisville is averaging 460 total yards per game (14th in the country), with 302.8 (10th) coming through the air and 157.3 (68th) on the ground. Wake has scored 36.6 points per game (T-20th).
Here is a look at the projected starters for the Cardinals on offense:
| Position | Name (#) | Year | 2024 Statistics |
| Quarterback | Tyler Shough (9) | Graduate | 175-272 64.3%; 2348 yds, 20 TDs, 5 Ints |
| Running Back | Isaac Brown (25) | Freshman | 86 rush, 649 yds, 6 TDs; 8 catches, 132 yds, TD |
| Wide Receiver | Ja’Corey Brooks (1) | RS Senior | 44 catches, 799 yds, 8 TDs |
| Wide Receiver | Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (24) | Senior | 17 catches, 226 yds |
| Wide Receiver | Chris Bell (0) | Junior | 20 catches, 345 yds, 2 TDs |
| Tight End | Mark Redman (83) | Graduate | 15 catches, 179 yds, 3 TDs |
| Left Tackle | Monroe Mills (71) | Junior | |
| Left Guard | Michael Gonzalez (68) | Senior | |
| Center | Pete Nygra (50) | RS Junior | |
| Right Guard | Austin Collins (51) | Senior | |
| Right Tackle | Jonathan Mendoza (76) | Graduate |
Transfers galore for the Cardinals on offense: Brooks (Alabama); Huggins-Bruce (South Carolina); Mills (Texas Tech/Oklahoma State); Nygra (Northern Illinois); Redman (San Diego State/Washington); Mendoza (Yale); Shough (Texas Tech/Oregon)
Defense
Defensive Coordinator: Mark Hagen (2nd Season)/Ron English (2nd Season)
Co-Coaches Hagen and English are both in their second seasons with the Brohm Brothers. They play an attacking 4-3 defense with talent all over the field. The defense has taken their lumps against the better teams on the schedule, all losses.
Louisville’s defense is currently giving up 24.6 points per game (T-72nd in the country). They are giving up an average of 359 yards per game (62nd) through 8 games this season. 136.3 yards coming on the ground (58th) and 222.7 through the air (73rd).
Here is a look at the projected starters along with their statistics from their early season slate for the Cardinals defense:
| Position | Name (#) | Year | 2024 Statistics |
| Defensive End | Ashton Gillotte (9) | Senior | 27 tackles, 5 TFLs, 2 sacks, 2 FRs |
| Nose Tackle | Dezmond Tell (99) | Senior | 18 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, sack |
| Defensive Tackle | Jared Dawson (93) | RS Junior | 15 tackles, 5 TFLs, 3 sacks |
| Defensive End | Tramel Logan (19) | RS Senior | 15 tackles, 5 TFLs, 3 sacks, FF |
| Linebacker | Antonio Watts (35) | Junior | 32 tackles, 5 TFLs |
| Linebacker | Stanquan Clark (6) | Sophomore | 44 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, FF |
| Linebacker | TJ Quinn (34) | RS Junior | 45 tackles, 2 TFLs, sack |
| Cornerback | Corey Thornton (14) | Senior | 19 tackles |
| Strong Safety | MJ Griffin (26) | RS Senior | 39 tackles, TFL |
| Free Safety | Tamarion McDonald (12) | RS Senior | 36 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks, 2 FR |
| Cornerback | Quincy Riley (3) | RS Senior | 15 tackles, TFL, Int, FF |
Louisville is a -2 in turnover margin on the season and has 7 takeaways with only two of them being interceptions.
Special Teams
Here is a look at the projected starters on Special Teams for the Cards .
| Position | Name (#) | Year | 2024 Statistics |
| Kicker | Brock Travelstead (38) | Senior | 9-15; long of 56 yds |
| Punter | Brady Hodges (93) | Senior | 14 punts, 39.4 avg, long of 56 yds |
| Punt Returner | Quincy Riley (3) | RS Senior | 6 returns, 53 yds, long of 29 yds |
| Kick Returner | Isaac Brown (25) | Freshman | 11 returns, 193 yds, long of 25 yds |
Summary
Clemson is once again a double-digit favorite at home. Louisville can score in bunches, and Tyler Shough has shown he can put up big numbers against the most difficult opponents. This will be a good test for the Tigers, especially after a week off.
Louisville has some talent all over the field. They had the pre-season defensive player of the year (Gillotte), as well as impact transfers (Brooks, Shough, etc). This is a good team that will stress the Tigers on both side of the ball. Louisville has never beaten the Tigers. Death Valley should be rocking Saturday night. Get there, and get loud. This is a tough stretch run, and it starts this weekend.
