By Mariam Prieto —

Louisville lost against No. 3 Clemson with a final score of 45-10 on Saturday Oct. 19. This was the Cardinals fourth ACC game and second conference loss.

This was Louisville’s first game against a top five ranking team under head coach Scott Satterfield.  “I’m proud of our guys, they continued to fight the whole way through,” he said.

In the first quarter, Louisville’s (4-3, 2-2) defense held it together, blocking Clemson’s (7-0, 4-0) advance. The Tigers only scored a field goal in the first quarter, ending 3-0.

The second quarter saw the Tigers take charge of  their offense, with a touchdown scored in the first minute of the quarter. The Cardinal’s defense suffered, and the Tigers scored another touchdown. Louisville scored a field goal and brought the score to 17-3 by the end of the quarter.

In the last two minutes of the third quarter, Clemson advanced on the Cards with a touchdown after rushing 49 yards. Clemson added a kick attempt to their touchdown, and finished the quarter with a score of 24-3.

The fourth quarter saw freshman Javian Hawkins make the sole Cardinal touchdown. Although their offense ramped up, Louisville’s defense took a hit. The tigers were able to get past the Cards and scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Freshman Evan Conley proved important to the defense with a combined passing of 107 yards, alongside sophomore Micale Cunningham. Hawkins rushed a total of 129 yards. Junior Dez Fitzpatrick received 63 yards, alongside sophomore Chatarius Atwell’s 37 yards.

Cunningham commented on the defense’s improvements. “We played better. We made them work for everything, and we didn’t really give them anything,” he said.

Clemson took the lead with a rushing average of 8.1, while Louisville ended with 3.6. Louisville had the higher receiving average of  13.4, while Clemson finished with 11.5.

Satterfield referred to the lack of conversions on Louisville’s end when he said, ” We didn’t make enough plays. The bottom line is that they out-executed us.”

“We were not able to get any momentum in that game.”

Louisville will face University of Virginia in their fifth conference match up on Oct. 26 at Cardinal Stadium.

Photo by Louise Scharff / The Louisville Cardinal