EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (2025): Louisville v. Clemson

Pregame Prep: Things You Should Know Before the Game

• Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET (Friday)
• TV / Radio: ESPN / 93.9 The Ville
• Weather: Temperatures around the 50s for game time; low chance for rain
• Uniforms: Louisville (all black throwbacks); Clemson TBD as of Thursday morning

Last Time (Louisville v. Clemson): 2024

Louisville marched to a 17-7 halftime lead, then pushed it to 26-7 after three Brock Travelstead field goals in the third quarter (part of his 4-for-4 night on field goals). After Clemson cut the lead to 26-14 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Isaac Brown scored on a 45-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage.

Brown would lead Louisville with 151 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Despite enduring well over 100 plays from scrimmage, Louisville’s defense managed to hold Clemson to 450 total yards and 4.1 yards per attempt from quarterback Cade Klubnik, as the Cardinals notched their first-ever win over the Tigers with a 33-21 victory.

Notable Numbers:

• Clemson leads the all-time series 8-1. Louisville is 7-7 all-time in official “blackout” games, per their media guide.
• Since Louisville’s win over Miami last October, quarterback Miller Moss is completing just 58% of his passes (54/93) for 526 yards, a 2/3 TD-INT ratio, and averaging just 5.7 yards per attempt. Louisville’s current 6.8 yards per pass attempt would be the lowest for the program since 2018.
• Cal’s 350 passing yards was the most given up by Louisville at home since 2021 (Virginia).
• Keyjuan Brown continues to excel, rushing for a career-high 136 yards on 14 carries last week against Cal.

First Down: Meet the 2025 Clemson Tigers

Once a preseason top five team and a favorite for both the ACC title and a College Football Playoff spot, this season has been an utter free-fall for the Clemson Tigers. Clemson lost three of its first four games to fall out of the polls, and has since been fighting just to maintain bowl eligibility.

Clemson enters this week with a 4-5 record, coming off a 24-10 win at home against Florida State. The Tigers have won three of their last five games, giving up ten points in each of them (but have given up 24 or more points in four of five losses this season).

Second Down: Clemson Offense Breakdown

36-year old Garrett Riley enters his third season as the offensive coordinator for Clemson; he and head coach Dabo Swinney also have a slew of notable assistants leading the offense, including Matt Luke and former Clemson running back standout C.J. Spiller.

For the third straight year, they also get quarterback Cade Klubnik returning to lead them on the field. The Austin, TX native has had an up-and-down 2025 season (missed the SMU game due to injury), but the “up” portion is (A) in his last four games played. He’s completing 77.8% of his passes and averaging 272.5 yards per game in that stretch, with eight touchdowns and just one interception (and averaging 9.3 yards per attempt).

When Klubnik is on his game as he has been in the last month, Clemson’s offense becomes a very scary unit. He has excellent placement on deep passes and is a really solid runner when his number is called.

Clemson has had excellent running backs for basically the entirety of Dabo Swinney’s run there, from the aforementioned Spiller to guys like Wayne Gallman, Travis Etienne, and most recently with Phil Mafah and Will Shipley. The staff converted Adam Randall from wide receiver in the offseason to running back and he immediately took the RB1 spot. He’s given them okay production this season (570 rushing yards, six touchdowns), but Clemson hasn’t been able to sustain their usually explosive run game at any point this season. Freshman Gideon Davidson (37 carries, 149 yards) has seen an increased workload with 10+ carries in the last two games and offers a high-upside to the position, being a four-star recruit and a top-125 recruit (per 247 Sports).

Clemson’s receiver group took a massive hit this season when their top playmaker, Bryant Wesco, Jr. (31 rec., 537 yards, six TDs) suffered a season-ending injury in their loss to SMU last month. They still have two excellent receivers in TJ Moore and Antonio Williams, the latter whom led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns last season. Williams is an excellent slot receiver that can get open and be a matchup problem, he’s had 5+ catches in each of the last six games (including a ten-catch, 142-yard, touchdown outing versus Duke). Moore is a big target at 6’3″ and 200 lbs. and has been another player coming on as of late, with all four receiving touchdowns coming in the last five games.

Key Players:

• QB Cade Klubnik (68% completion, 2,136 passing yards, 14/5 TD-INT ratio)
• WR Antonio Williams (39 receptions, 429 yards, two TDs)
• WR TJ Moore (31 receptions, 536 yards, four TDs)

Third Down: Clemson Defense Breakdown

Another staple in the Dabo Swinney era at Clemson has been a stout front seven, and once again the Tigers have an abundance of talent at both defensive line and linebacker. Clemson comes into this week ranking third in the ACC in sacks (27) and fifth in tackles for loss (59).

Purdue transfer Will Heldt and defensive tackle Peter Woods have been solid on the edge and inside, respectively. Heldt is a really solid athlete that can finish plays behind the line, he leads the team in both sacks and TFLs this season. Woods hasn’t been as productive as he was last season, but he can disrupt inside runs and allow their athletic edge rushers and linebackers to run free. Woods is a potential first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. TJ Parker (six TFLs, two sacks) and Jaheim Lawson (six TFLs, 3.5 sacks) have been decent as weak-side edge rushers, and good games from them could cause issues for Miller Moss and the Louisville passing game once again.

Linebacker Sammy Brown followed up a solid 2024 season with another one in 2025, and he could be in line for All-ACC First Team honors. He’s another hyper-athletic linebacker that just seems to be everywhere on any given play, it reminds you a lot of Isaiah Simmons when he suited up for Clemson. He’s another potential first round pick when he is eligible in 2027.

If there is a weakness in Clemson’s game, it’s likely their pass coverage. A few of their losses (and even evident in some wins) can be attributed to blown assignments in coverage, and that was especially a problem two weeks ago against Duke. Avieon Terrell, brother of Atlanta Falcons standout A.J. Terrell, has been a bright spot in the secondary though. He had two sacks last week as a blitz corner, has all the attributes that you want out of a future NFL cornerback; doesn’t shy away from contact, able to make plays in man coverage and win his share of 50-50 balls. I’d expect Terrell to line up against Chris Bell the most on Saturday. Safety Ricardo Jones leads the team with four interceptions, including three in the last four games.

Key Players:

• LB Sammy Brown (67 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, three sacks, FF)
• DL Will Heldt (10.5 TFLs, five sacks) and Peter Woods (2.5 TFLs, two sacks; two rushing TDs)
• CB Avieon Terrell (39 tackles, nine PBUs, three forced fumbles)

Fourth Down: Keys to the Game

When Louisville has the ball…

Can Keyjuan Brown continue his hot stretch against a tough Clemson team? That is one question Louisville will look to find out against a Clemson defense that is fifth in the ACC in rushing defense (106.2 YPG allowed). They’re also allowing 3.6 yards per carry and have generally been effective in shutting down the run, moreso in their wins.

Another thing to watch, perhaps more importantly, will be if Louisville can establish their passing game and get Miller Moss into a rhythm early. If Moss and the staff can’t get their passing game to be more dynamic down the stretch, then the Cardinals are going to struggle immensely against a Clemson defense that has talent, an SMU defense that currently leads the ACC in sacks, and a Kentucky defense that is always motivated in the rivalry game. If the passing game is unable to pose some kind of threat down the stretch, then the pressure for the staff to make a change at quarterback is only going to grow (and it’s been very notable as of late).

Otherwise, I’d expect Louisville to try and attack Clemson’s secondary with some designed plays to get their playmakers (Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy) in space to get chunk plays, similar to the Bowling Green and Miami games. If Louisville can get some rhythm flowing in the passing game against Clemson, then you can build confidence in Moss to execute the game plan and take the pressure off of him that has been mounting through the season.

When Clemson has the ball…

After giving up 16 receptions to Cal’s Jacob De Jesus last week and 350 passing yards to the Golden Bears, all eyes will be on Louisville’s pass coverage to see if they can bounce back from last week’s loss. Klubnik and Williams are guys that can give Louisville some matchup fits, even if the Cardinals managed to hold the Tigers to just 4.1 yards per attempt last season.

Clemson’s offense has utilized the same concepts over the 18 seasons that head coach Dabo Swinney has led the program (screens, run-pass options, zone runs, the occasional deep passes), but two national titles and countless ACC championships only validates its efficacy. Expect a steady amount of targets to Williams and Moore in the passing game, which Louisville will need an answer for. If Stanquan Clark is able to return on Friday, that gives Louisville a huge boost in this game especially, as he has the athleticism to play in coverage with Clemson’s tight ends or Adam Randall out of the backfield.

In goal line or short yardage situations, don’t be surprised if Clemson lines up Peter Woods for carries. Woods has two rushing touchdowns and at 310 lbs., he’s a load to bring down.

One stat to keep an eye on this game is the turnover margin. In Clemson’s four losses this season, the Tigers are -4 total in the margin (including -5 in their four conference losses).