Even in a down year, Clemson found its way to the top of the ACC and into the 12-team College Football Playoff last season. However, Louisville was one of the teams that took advantage of the dip, knocking off the Tigers 33-21 in Death Valley behind a breakout performance from freshman running back Isaac Brown with 20 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown on the massive stage.
Brown will need to be even better in 2025 for the Cardinals to build a bit of a winning streak over the ACC’s perennial powerhouse because Clemson is back in the national title conversation. Much of the preseason hype for the Tigers is centered around their star quarterback, but he may not be the focal point of Jeff Brohm’s Week 12 game plan.
Keeping TJ Parker out of the backfield
Clemson presents so many issues on the offensive side of the ball, and Cade Klubnik may win the Heisman Trophy this season. That’s how good he was last year, and how much potential he still has to unlock what is likely his final collegiate campaign. Yet, the biggest problem that Dabo Swinney’s Tigers will create for Louisville is on the other side of the ball with a more underrated superstar.
Parker was an absolute force as a true sophomore, a powerful 265-pound edge who can win with speed and bend to turn the corner to the quarterback, but prefers to just drive an offensive tackle right back into his lap. Parker’s combination of length, strength, and quickness is rare in college football and could make him the best pass rusher in the country next season. Still, that doesn’t mean Louisville can dedicate all its resources to slowing him down.
Dabo Swinney has flatly regretted the Transfer Portal, right up until he realized his roster was lagging behind other national contenders and he had a real shot to win it all with Cade Klubnik returning for 2025. Then, Swinney went out and added Will Heldt, a 6-foot-6 260 260-pound edge from Purdue who will feast on one-on-one matchups if Parker is consistently doubled. That’s not even to mention Peter Woods on the interior.
Parker finished last season with a team-high 12 sacks, 51 QB pressures, and a pass-rush win-rate of 15.3 percent. He’s only going to get better as he develops his repertoire to have counters he can work off his bull rush to get offensive tackles guessing.
In their matchup last season, Parker had four pressures and three hurries, but didn’t get Tyler Shough to the ground in Louisville’s upset win. Shough did, however, complete just one of his 11 attempts against Clemson when pressured for 13 yards, and he was pressured on 38.2 percent of his dropbacks in the game. Miller Moss will need a revamped Louisville offensive line to provide him with more time if he’s going to keep pace with the Klubnik-led offense.
Louisville will have a completely new tackle tandem this year, with Makylan Pounders from Mississippi State and Mahamane Moussa from Purdue the likely starters. How those two perform will be a huge determining factor for Louisville’s dark horse College Football Playoff contention.