No. 11 Clemson suffers its first ACC loss as a lackluster offense leads to a 33-21 loss to Louisville

No. 11 Clemson lost its first ACC game of the season, losing at home to Louisville 33-21. The win is the Cardinals’ first over the Tigers since joining the conference in 2014. Louisville had lost its last eight meetings against Clemson.

Isaac Brown ran for a 45-yard touchdown after the Cardinals repelled a Clemson onside kick attempt to tie the game with 5:50 to play.

After Clemson running back Phil Mafah scored a 3-yard TD to increase the game to 26-13, Clemson opted to kick an extra point rather than attempt a two-point conversion to close the lead to 11 points shorten. That decision made more sense when the Tigers attempted an onside kick, but Louisville recovered. (The replay appeared to show that Clemson had two players offside anyway, but that didn’t matter.)

Fans threw objects onto the field in protest, but after the brief delay, Brown delivered the dagger with his touchdown run.

The Tigers’ passing game had no answer for the Louisville defense. Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 33 of 56 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown, but the majority of those yards came after the game was out of reach.

Mafah had a monster performance running the ball, gaining 171 yards on 30 carries, but his two touchdowns came too late. (Klubnik added 43 yards on 12 carries.)

After falling behind 26-7, the Tigers had to throw the ball to catch up. But Clemson and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley didn’t show much urgency, increasing the tempo and trying to score quicker.

Brown finished the game with 151 yards rushing on 20 carries for Louisville, while Chris Bell added 47 yards on his only rush. Quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 156 yards and completed 17 of 32 passes. Ja’Corey Brooks led the Cardinals in receiving with 42 yards on four receptions. And Brock Travelstead kicked four field goals, his longest of 49 yards.

The loss drops Clemson to third place in the ACC behind Miami and SMU, both of which are 5-0. Pittsburgh is right behind the Tigers at 3-1 after suffering its first conference loss to SMU.