Clemson faces one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the country this Saturday night in Malik Cunningham. He has over 9200 total yards in his career, and like the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback at Louisville Lamar Jackson, Cunningham does a lot of his work with his legs. In fact, the Cards build their offense around the running game. They rushed for 215 yards in last weekend’s loss to NC State, their fourth straight game of over 200 rushing yards. During that stretch Louisville has averaged 247 rushing yards per game.
Clemson is 6-0 all-time versus the Cardinals. The first three games were down to the wire, but the last three were Clemson blowouts. The Tigers are coming off a narrow win over Florida State in which they only allowed 241 total yards, but the defense did give up several big yardage plays, including a 75-yard touchdown pass. That’s something the Tigers will need to guard against Louisville. The Cardinals are one of the nation’s leaders in explosive plays.
Some of Dabo Swinney’s key comments:
- All starts with the running game with Louisville offense, they do a lot of different things, tight end a concern, they make a lot of big plays.
- Has some guys who are day to day but no one new who is definitely out; looking to play a complete game on the road for first time this season.
- UL QB similar to Lamar Jackson, has scored 13 touchdowns, can’t give him an edge.
- The light has come on for center Hunter Rayburn, also, Mitchell Mayes at guard is getting better but he’s young and has had a lot thrown at him, looking for Paul Tchio to turn the corner at some point
- No concerns with Potter who missed three kicks vs FSU, was great in practice last night, just had an off day against Seminoles, leave him alone and let him work things out himself.
