CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson doesn’t lose back-to-back games often. In fact, the Tigers haven’t done so in 149 games, the longest active streak in the country dating back to 2011.
After Saturday, make it a clean 150.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and running back Will Shipley were steady, and the Tigers defense was opportunistic as No. 10 Clemson beat Louisville, 31-16.
Uiagalelei had 185 passing yards, a rushing touchdown and a 140.1 passer rating, Shipley ran for 106 yards and a touchdown and Clemson’s defense had an interception, a forced fumble, nine tackles for loss and four sacks in a mostly decisive 15-point victory in Memorial Stadium.
Freshman wide receiver Antonio Williams also starred with a career-high 10 catches for 83 yards as the Tigers (9-1, 7-0 ACC) won a 39th consecutive home game, clinched the ACC Atlantic Division title outright and rebounded from last week’s blowout loss at No. 20 Notre Dame.
It wasn’t enough to make up for Clemson’s six-place drop from No. 4 to No. 10 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings. But it was enough to keep their slim CFP hopes alive with two regular-season games against Miami and South Carolina and the ACC championship game — all but certain to be played against No. 15 UNC, the Coastal Division favorite — remaining on their schedule.
At this point in the season, Clemson needs wins above else and got one against Louisville (6-4, 3-4 ACC), which entered Death Valley having won four straight games by 10 or more points.
Star Cardinals quarterback Malik Cunningham exited the game in the second half with a lingering left hand injury, and he wasn’t himself on the possessions he gutted out in the first.
That allowed Clemson’s defense to set the tone early: a week after getting out-muscled and outworked by Notre Dame, the Tigers forced three-and-outs on three of the Cardinals’ first four offensive possessions.
Clemson’s offense chipped in, too, seven days removed from getting shut out midway through the third quarter in South Bend, Ind. Uiagalelei scored an 11-yard rushing touchdown on the team’s opening possession and kicker B.T. Potter added a short field goal in the first quarter.
The Tigers offense ended up playing with fire a lot of the first half with two fumbles (one lost), two false starts, two timeouts burned to avoid delay of games and one red zone leading to Potter’s aforementioned 19-yarder.
Still, Clemson took a 17-7 lead into the break after Uiagalelei found slot receiver Williams for a four-yard touchdown pass 32 seconds before halftime. The Tigers’ defense was a big factor in that 10-point lead, too, allowing just one touchdown to Louisville’s Cunningham-led offense.
It was more of the same when Brock Domann, Cunningham’s backup, subbed in. Clemson’s defense wasn’t perfect, but it was timely. After getting gashed for a 54-yard catch and run, the Tigers held the Cardinals to a red zone field goal. Later, they forced and recovered a fumble.
In the third quarter, Shipley’s 25-yard rushing touchdown — a highlight reel play that included a hurdle of a defender — boosted Clemson’s lead to 24-10 and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The Tigers had a respectable 255 yards of total offense in the first half but didn’t maintain that same level of consistency in the second. After Shipley’s touchdown to go up 14, Clemson’s next four offensive possessions ended in three punts and a fumble.
As such, a defensive fourth-down hold with Louisville trailing 24-10 early in the fourth quarter was notable, as was star linebacker Barrett Carter intercepting Domann late in the period with the Cardinals once again driving down 14.
Backup running back Phil Mafah provided an insurance touchdown late in the game, breaking free for a 39-yard touchdown that put his team up 31-10 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Domann also threw a 31-yard touchdown pass on the final play of scrimmage.
Clemson, despite fumbling four times on offense and losing three of them, ultimately tied 2005-11 Oklahoma for the ninth longest home winning streak in college football history (39 games) while playing without multiple starters.
All-ACC linebacker Trenton Simpson, wide receiver Beaux Collins and right guard Walker Parks all sat on Saturday, while defensive end Xavier Thomas underwent season-ending surgery earlier this week.
Despite coach Dabo Swinney saying Clemson would evaluate its quarterback position this week, Uiagalelei remained the starter and played the first 11 offensive drives of the game and 12 of 13 total.
True freshman backup Cade Klubnik, who’d entered the game for a struggling Uiagalelei two weeks in a row before Saturday, didn’t sub in until garbage time.
Playing on Clemson’s second to last offensive possession of the game, Klubnik didn’t attempt a pass and rushed once for 13 yards.
