Clemson is a huge step toward avoiding its first regular-season losing record under coach Dabo Swinney.
On Friday night, the Tigers somehow edged No. 20 Louisville 20-19 to move to 5-5 in a game that exemplified the chaos of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
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Maintaining a one-point lead, Clemson was ready to give the ball to the Cardinals with 2:34 left. However, the ball bounced before it reached player Jack Smith and he was unable to deal with it cleanly. This set up the Cardinals for a potential game-winning field goal in Clemson territory.
The key word here is “potential”. After kicker Cooper Ranvier missed a field goal and an extra point early in the game, Louisville coach Jeff Brohm released Nick Keller. The 46-yard attempt went wide.
The Cardinals had one last chance to get into field goal range with 30 seconds left, but after starting at their own 8-yard line, Louisville never got into Clemson territory.
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The loss eliminates the Cardinals from contention in a very crowded ACC. Five teams entered Week 12 with one conference loss, with Miami and Louisville close behind with two conference losses. The Cardinals are now 4-3 in the ACC and 7-3 overall.
Clemson is currently .500 with games left against Furman and South Carolina. The game against lower-tier Furman should be a win for Clemson and give the Tigers bowl eligibility ahead of their rivalry with the Gamecocks.
If Clemson had lost to Louisville, it would (probably) have had a must-win game against South Carolina in the bowl game. Although the Gamecocks are having a down season, they have won two of their last three games against the Tigers.
This would be a dangerous place for Swinney's team to be in as they have struggled throughout the season. Clemson's worst regular season record in its 17-plus seasons was 6-6 in 2010. As bad as 2025 is for the Tigers, it at least shouldn't be worse than this.
