Louisville football: Cards pummeled in Death Valley
Louisville football never stood a chance on Saturday after Clemson got out to a great start and never looked back.
Louisville football, as predicted, was eviscerated by Clemson on Saturday, falling to the Tigers 77-16.
The Tigers got out to exactly the start that everyone expected. A four play, 75-yard drive that took a minute and 15 seconds highlighted by a long burst by Travis Etienne was not what the doctor ordered for the Cards. A drive full of bad angles and lack of hustle from the defense led to a way-too-easy touchdown drive.
On their first offensive drive, the Cards were forced to go three and out after a not-so-surprising sack from the Clemson defense on third down. And the tone was set for the rest of the game.
Clemson got the ball back, and on the first play running back Tavien Feaster went for a light jog directly up the middle, untouched for a 70-yard touchdown.
The Cards were pathetic from the start. There was a lack of preparation, lack of hustle, and lack of awareness on defense.
The offense, on the other hand, picked up where we saw it against the likes of Florida State or Boston College in the first half. The Cards finished a 16 play, 73-yard drive with a short Blanton Creque field goal to get on the board.
Up 14-3, Clemson took over on offense and they continued to eviscerate the Louisville defense. The Tigers went up 21-7 after an 8-play drive.
On the ensuing possession, Puma Pass overshot a receiver and Clemson took an interception to the crib. From that point forward, the route was on.
Box Score at halftime. Cards trail 35-3 pic.twitter.com/C8nyuDdLl4
— Big Red Louie (@TheBigRedLouie) November 3, 2018
The halftime statistics were most indicative of the complete domination by the Tigers, who started rotating in their second string defense on the third drive of the game.
Clemson played all of their scholarship players, and got a chance to bring in their 3rd and 4th string players and walk-ons.
The rest of the game followed suite with the first half. Clemson played ball control offense after the lead got out of hand, and stud freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence never really needed to get involved.
The Cards were handed their 6th straight loss, and their 14th loss in their last twenty games against power five teams.
Hot. Examining what went wrong with Bobby 2.0. light
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Cards, as they travel to No. 19 Syracuse this Friday before squaring off against 21st ranked NC State the following week, and concluding against No. 9 Kentucky on Thanksgiving weekend.
Fasten your seat belts Cards fans, Louisville is on the fast track to a 2-10 season.