CLEMSON, SC - They say they remember November, but the Saturday after Halloween was a game that the Tigers would like to forget. It was an electric atmosphere under the lights in Death Valley, and Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins went into the Clemson Hall of Fame, but the Tigers' play on the field did not match the intensity of the crowd, which was shocking after a bye and six straight blowout wins.
It was such a weird game with so many statistical anomalies. The Tigers outgained them 450-366, ran 101 plays to their 59, had 31 first downs to their 19 and possessed the ball for almost 16 more minutes! I would have never believed all of those things could happen and the Tigers would still lose at home. Especially with no turnovers, pick-sixes, etc.! The Tigers had never lost a game in 127 years when rushing and passing for 200 yards until the fluke loss at Duke last season. Now it's happened two years in a row!
Ironically, it was one of Mafah's best career game with 136 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. However, the Tigers were held scoreless from the first quarter until the fourth while Louisville scored 23 unanswered points. The Tigers had two field goals blocked over that stretch, including a chip shot. They also had two blocked at FSU, and that makes 5 blocked field goals and a PAT this season! Had the Tigers made those two field goals, it would have completely changed the momentum of the game, and instead of being down 12 on their last possession, they would have been down 6 with a chance to win at the 20 yard line. Realistically, they might have even had the lead at that point because of the momentum shift, field position, not having to onside kick, etc. That's not an excuse, just a fact. As badly as the Tigers played at every level, if they had only gotten two field goals off, they probably would have won with their D minus game. If they had played their A game, they would have won by at least a couple touchdowns. But that didn't happen, and that's why they play the games. As Dabo said, it was a huge opportunity missed. He put the blame squarely on himself for not having the team ready and being outcoached.
The Tigers don't control their destiny anymore, but I wouldn't count them out just yet. If they play the next 5 games like they did the last 6, they will probably win out. And it's not unthinkable that SMU or Miami could lose, in which case the Tigers would still have a chance to win the ACC and make the playoff. Maybe this will light a fire under the team! Better to lose this game than at Pitt in a couple weeks. They better right the ship fast because the next two games will not be easy on the road at VA Tech and at Pitt!
I'll have more in a bit. In the meantime, post-game interviews, highlights and notes are below.
GAME NOTES
- Clemson dropped to 6-2 on the season and 5-1 in ACC play.
- Clemson outgained Louisville, 450-366, and held a 31-19 edge in first downs.
- Clemson rushed for 222 yards, its fifth 200-yard rushing game of the season. Clemson is now 85-4 in Dabo Swinney’s tenure when rushing for 200 yards in a game.
- Clemson has now reached both 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a game in five games this season. Clemson entered the game tied for the most such games in the nation in 2024.
- Clemson has now reached both 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in five games in a season for the first time since 2019. It is Clemson’s seventh such season in school history (10 in 2019, eight in 2015, seven in 2018, six in 2016, five in 2012 and five in 2001).
- Clemson dropped to 65-2 when both passing and rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney. Overall, Clemson is now 115-2-1 in program history when reaching those marks.
- Clemson is now 95-3 since 1981 in games in which it records at least 200 rushing yards and at least 25 first downs. In addition to Saturday, Clemson’s lone losses in those games were in 1984 against Georgia Tech and 2023 against Duke.
- Clemson ran a season-high 101 plays and held the ball for a season-long 37:52.
- Clemson’s 101 plays tied with the 2022 Orange Bowl against Tennessee for the second-most in school history, one shy of the school record of 102 set against NC State in 2012.
- Running back Phil Mafah rushed 30 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 28 yards.
- Mafah finished the game with 199 all-purpose yards, one yard shy of posting the first 200-yard all-purpose performance by a Clemson player since Will Shipley’s 242 all-purpose yards against Syracuse in 2021.
- Mafah’s 171 rushing yards and 30 carries were both a season high. Both totals were the second-most of his career and his most since a 36-carry, 186-yard rushing game against Notre Dame last season.
- Mafah’s fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season added to his single-season career high in 100-yard rushing games.
- Clemson is now 68-5 when having a 100-yard rusher since 2011.
- The game was Mafah’s seventh multi-touchdown game of his career and his third of the season.
- Mafah has now rushed for multiple touchdowns in three straight games for the first time in his career. He became the first Clemson player to rush for multiple touchdowns in three straight games since Will Shipley across the first three games of the 2022 season.
- With his second rushing touchdown of the game, Mafah (28) tied Terry Allen (28 from 1987-89) for 10th in school history in career rushing touchdowns.
- During the contest, Mafah (2,625) became the 13th player in school history to reach 2,500 career rushing yards.
- Mafah (2,625) passed Buddy Gore (2,571 from 1966-68) for 12th on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career rushing yardage.
- Mafah rushed for his seventh and eighth touchdowns of the season on runs of three yards and one yard in the fourth quarter.
- Clemson has now rushed for a touchdown in 58 consecutive home games, the nation’s longest active streak. The last team to hold Clemson without a rushing touchdown in Death Valley was Troy in 2016.
- Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 33-of-56 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. He also added 43 rushing yards on 12 carries.
- Klubnik’s 33 completions tied his career high set against NC State in 2023, and his 56 pass attempts were a career high.
- Klubnik has now been responsible for 25 combined touchdowns this season, including 21 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. It represents the 14th season in school history in which a player has been responsible for 25 or more touchdowns (all categories including passing).
- During the game, Klubnik (6,196) became the ninth player in school history to reach 6,000 career yards of total offense.
- Klubnik (6,196) passed Steve Fuller (6,096 from 1975-78) for eighth in school history in career yards of total offense.
- On his third completion of the game, Klubnik (530) became the seventh player in Clemson history to throw 500 career completions.
- On his 22nd completion of the game, Klubnik (530) passed Cullen Harper (518 from 2005-08) to enter the Top 5 in school history in career pass completions.
- On his 27th passing attempt of the game, Klubnik (829) became the eighth player in school history to throw 800 career passes.
- Wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. returned after missing Clemson’s last two games with an ankle injury and recorded a team-high and career-high seven receptions for 53 yards.
- Wide receiver Antonio Williams caught six passes for 25 yards with a touchdown.
- Williams added to his single-season career high in receiving touchdowns on a 12-yard pass from Klubnik late in the first quarter, his sixth touchdown reception of the season.
- Williams’ six receiving touchdowns this season are the most by a Clemson player in a season since 2020 when both Amari Rodgers and Cornell Powell caught seven touchdowns.
- Williams has now accounted for a touchdown rushing or receiving in four straight games.
- Louisville’s first rushing touchdown in the second quarter ended a streak of four consecutive games in which Clemson had not allowed a rushing touchdown. The four-game streak was Clemson’s longest since a four-game streak across the 2021-22 seasons.
- Clemson has now reached 400 yards in seven straight games for the first time since reaching 400 yards in all 12 games in 2020.
- Clemson allowed only one sack and has now surrendered one sack or fewer in seven straight games for the first time since an eight-game streak in 2019.
- Clemson did not have a giveaway in the game, its 47th such game under Dabo Swinney. Clemson is now 42-5 (.894) in games in Swinney’s tenure in which it does not record a giveaway.
- Clemson played a 10th consecutive game (dating to last season) with one giveaway or fewer for the first time since a 12-game streak across the 2019-20 seasons. Dating to last season, Clemson has six giveaways over its last 10 games and has not had a multi-giveaway game in that span.
- Linebacker Wade Woodaz tied a career high with a team-leading 11 tackles.
- Clemson did not record a takeaway, snapping a streak of six consecutive games forcing at least one turnover. Clemson is 6-0 this season when it produces at least one takeaway and 0-2 when it does not.
- The game was Clemson’s first in which neither team produced a turnover since 2022 at Wake Forest.
- Clemson dropped to 8-1 all-time against Louisville. Clemson’s eight consecutive wins to open its all-time series against Louisville were its second-most to open a series against a single opponent, trailing Clemson’s 29-game winning streak to open its series against Virginia from 1955-89.
- The game ended Clemson’s 22-game winning streak in home night games, which was the nation’s second-longest active streak. It was Clemson’s first loss in a home night game since 2013.
- Clemson is now 25-4 in night games at Memorial Stadium in Dabo Swinney’s tenure.
- Clemson dropped to 69-4 at home in the College Football Playoff era.
- Clemson is now 30-5 in November games since 2015.
- During the game, former quarterback Tajh Boyd and former wide receiver Sammy Watkins were recognized for their induction into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday evening.
- Captains for the contest were defensive tackle Payton Page, offensive lineman Walker Parks, wide receiver Antonio Williams and linebacker Wade Woodaz.
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