CLEMSON – Halfway through the action here in Death Valley, No. 11 Clemson finds itself in a dogfight with an angry Louisville team as the Cardinals lead the Tigers 17-7.

Observations during halftime

– It took a few drives for Clemson’s offense to shake off some of the rust from the previous week. After back-to-back threes and outs to start the game, Clemson finally put together an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive just before the end of the game’s first quarter. Another drive late in the second quarter looked like it would score points, but a 49-yard FG attempt by Nolan Hauser was blocked.

– The Cardinals broke the Clemson defense for 228 total yards, 133 of which came on the ground. Bad angles, chasing and sloppy tackling all play a role. This defense hasn’t been very disciplined so far.

– Clemson lost Peter Woods, Tre Williams and Shelton Lewis to injury in the first half.

– Cade Klubnik has passed for just 87 yards in the first two quarters. Against a Louisville pass defense that has been very leaky for much of the season.

– Klubnik’s legs played a role in the first half. He has 35 rushing yards and extended a few plays. One of those came on the touchdown drive, when he picked up six yards on a first down deep in Louisville territory and a 12-yard run on the final drive of the half.

– Multiple times in that first half, Louisville’s entire offensive line hit the ground as soon as the ball was snapped in an attempt to block the Tigers’ defensive front. Reminiscent of the teams Paul Johnson coached at Georgia Tech many years ago. Woods appeared to be injured on one of those cut blocks.

– Matt Luke was not happy with the offensive line’s play on the first two drives of the game. The Tigers’ offensive line coach could be seen chewing out his players after the second offensive possession. It wasn’t the best half of football from the boys up front.

– Speaking of a coach who is hot: Dabo Swinney has been extremely unhappy with some of the calls here so far. It started with a questionable delay of game call on DeMonte Caphart and then Swinney really went ballistic in the second quarter after Avieon Terrell was flagged for interference and no clear hold was called on the next play.

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or buy online!