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Louisville football: How do the Cards slow down Clemson?

By Will Reddington

LOUISVILLE, KY - SEPTEMBER 16: Khane Pass #30 of the Louisville Cardinals tackles Tavien Feaster #28 of the Clemson Tigers for a loss of yardage in the first quarter of a game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - SEPTEMBER 16: Khane Pass #30 of the Louisville Cardinals tackles Tavien Feaster #28 of the Clemson Tigers for a loss of yardage in the first quarter of a game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – OCTOBER 05: Micale Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals hands the ball off to Javian Hawkins #10 in the game against the Boston College Eagles during the second quarter at Cardinal Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – OCTOBER 05: Micale Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals hands the ball off to Javian Hawkins #10 in the game against the Boston College Eagles during the second quarter at Cardinal Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Win time of possession

This Clemson offense is as dynamic as you will see in college football behind Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne. In order to have any chance of winning (or even keeping it close), Louisville needs to keep them off the field, plain and simple.

The Cardinals defense wasn’t exactly a force in Saturday’s win at Wake Forest. They gave up 668 yards of total offense and 40 first downs. But they were able to cause two huge turnovers while winning the time of possession battle against one of the most dynamic offenses the ACC has to offer.

Louisville had the ball for 32 of 60 minutes in Winston-Salem. While it seems like a small margin, every Cards fans that watched the game knew that just one more Wake Forest possession probably would’ve resulted in a Louisville loss.

Avoiding three and outs and keeping this Clemson offense off the field is key. In order to do that they’ll need Seth Dawkins, Tutu Atwell, and Dez Fitzpatrick to have their third big week in a row, which means Micale Cunningham and Evan Conley will have to come ready to play their best football yet.

Clemson is one of, if not the, best defense in college football and their front seven will be a huge test of improvement for the offensive line. Dwayne Ledford has his guys ready to play as he told the media this week, and a lot of responsibility will fall on star left tackle Mekhi Becton as well as the others, to keep the pocket clean and open up holes for Javian Hawkins and Hassan Hall.

They feature one of the nation’s top quarterbacks and a plethora of dangerous weapons.

Clemson has four guys that are set to be first-round picks in this upcoming draft. They feature two on each side of the ball. Star running back Travis Etienne is the reigning ACC player of the year.

He’s likely to be the next rookie running back to make an immediate impact in the NFL. Wide receiver Tee Higgins found the end zone 12 times last season and will be very tough for the Louisville secondary to contain.

Defensively Clemson is led by linebacker Isaiah Simmons and defensive back AJ Terrell, both should be first-round picks. Simmons had a huge day last time out and Terrell had a pick on the biggest of stages, in the national title game.

There’s going to be pro talent everywhere on both sides of the ball for the Tigers. In a game where you’re overmatched, you have to shorten the contest. So Louisville needs to move the ball against this defense and keep this Clemson offense off of the field as much as possible.

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