The Clemson Tigers and Louisville Cardinals have been locked in a tight game in the first half, and surprisingly the Cardinals have stymied the Tigers’ offense for most of the half and pulled ahead at the break with some help from their friends in stripes. It was an uncharacteristically slow start for Clemson that saw them trailing early and never getting over the hump. Here are some observations from the first half at Death Valley
Where did the Clemson offense go?
The question of the hour. The Clemson Tigers received the ball first after Louisville won the toss and deferred to the second half. But the first two Clemson drives netted the Tigers a meager three total yards. Meanwhile, Louisville was moving the ball down the field with ease, though the Clemson defense did limit the damage. More on that in a moment. But if the Tigers wish to win this game and pull away in the second half, they will need to be more consistent in putting points on the board and take advantage of a below average Louisville defense that until now has had all kinds of trouble stopping any offense with a pulse.
Play calling is, well, interesting
The Clemson Tigers have made a living off of big, downfield plays so far this season. That has not been the case in the first half tonight. On its first two drives, the Tigers took exactly zero downfield shots and every pass was side to side. Even Phil Mafah could not find much room to run. It was a harkening back to the way the Tigers’ offense looked from 2021-23 and allowed Louisville to lead in total yards 105-3 late into the first quarter. Clemson has to be more creative.
Moore is always better
True freshman receiver T.J. Moore is having a big game so far. The Tampa, FL native had three huge catches on Clemson’s third drive to keep the Tigers in front of the sticks. That led to Clemson’s first touchdown of the game on a pass from Klubnik to Antonio Williams. Moore has developed a knack for slipping through opposing secondaries with savvy routes and sheer athleticism. Right now, feeding the ball to Moore is working so keep giving it to the freshman.
Red zone stonewall
As it was aforementioned, Louisville has had success pushing the ball down the field, but the Clemson defense has stood strong inside the red zone. Twice Louisville has gotten inside the 25 of the Tigers and only have three points to show for it. A missed 40-yard field goal certainly helped the cause as well. Great pressure from the front seven and several good plays and pass break-ups by Jaedyn Lukus have helped to turn the Cardinals away with minimal damage. If the defense can stay locked in, then Clemson should feel good about its chances in the second half.
The pet ACC refs have been in rare form
Everyone knows the Clemson Tigers usually gets the short end of the deal from referees. Tonight has been egregiously bad. The missed calls (and no calls) are really too numerous to all list here but in a nutshell: A horse collar foul called on the Tigers that simply never happened, a phantom pass interference call on Clemson that was not remotely close, and then on a long run inside the Tigers’ five, a Clemson defender literally gets choked around the neck and nary a flag was thrown. Oh, that was all on the same Louisville drive.
Shame on you refs and shame on the ACC for allowing this to happen. Clemson, and our fans, deserve far better. So does the game of college football.
