Things to look for as Clemson hosts Louisville

Clemson hosts Louisville for the first time since 2018. (Photo: Ken Ruinard / USATODAY)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Nov 12 07:00:04 GMT-04:00 2022

Clemson will take on Louisville later today, and there is plenty to watch out for as the Tigers take on the Cardinals.

I’ll start with injuries. There has been a lot of speculation on the board the last few days about multiple players being out. I’ve been told that one starting offensive lineman is out and one that doesn’t play is out. I’ve also been told there is a possibility that one of the starting linebackers doesn’t play.

WHEN: SATURDAY, NOV. 12, 3:30 P.M. ET
WHERE: MEMORIAL STADIUM (81,500), CLEMSON, S.C.
TELEVISION: ESPN (Wes Durham, Rod Gilmore, Tiffany Blackmon)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 135 or 193, Internet/App 955
CLEMSON/LOUISVILLE SERIES HISTORY: - OVERALL: Clemson leads series, 7-0

The Tigers have already clinched the ACC Atlantic, so all purple uniforms should be the order of the day unless head coach Dabo Swinney pulls a fast one and has the Tigers wear orange britches with the purple jerseys.

There are a lot of things to look out for today:

*Clemson attempting to produce its 30th nine-win season in school history. It would be Clemson's 13th under Swinney, more than doubling College Football Hall of Famer Danny Ford (six).

*Clemson attempting to win at least nine of the first 10 games of a season for the 16th time in school history, joining the 1939 (9-1), 1948 (10-0), 1950 (9-0-1), 1978 (9-1), 1981 (10-0), 1987 (9-1), 2011 (9-1), 2012 (9- 1), 2013 (9-1), 2015 (10-0), 2016 (9-1), 2017 (9-1), 2018 (10-0), 2019 (10-0) and 2020 (9-1) campaigns.

*Clemson attempting to clinch the ACC Atlantic Division outright. The Tigers are already guaranteed to represent the division in the ACC Championship Game by virtue of holding head-to-head tiebreakers in the event of identical conference records.

*Clemson attempting to push its all-time record against Louisville to 8-0.

*Clemson attempting to win in its first eight games against a school for the second time all-time, joining Clemson's wins in the first 29 games of its all-time series with Virginia.

*Clemson attempting to win its 39th consecutive home game to extend the longest home winning streak in ACC history. No member of Clemson’s roster has lost a home game at Clemson in their careers.

*Clemson (38) attempting to tie the 2005- 11 Oklahoma Sooners (39) for the ninth-longest home winning streak in FBS history.

*Clemson attempting to add to its national-best 57-1 record at home in the College Football Playoff era (since 2014).

*Clemson attempting to win a 10th consecutive game against conference opponents, dating to last season. It would mark Clemson’s fifth conference winning streak of 10 or more games since the ACC’s founding in 1953.

*Clemson attempting to win a seventh conference regular season game in a season for the 10th time in school history, joining the 1983 (7-0), 2012 (7-1), 2013 (7-1), 2015 (8-0), 2016 (7-1), 2017 (7-1), 2018 (8-0), 2019 (8-0) and 2020 (8-1) campaigns.

*Clemson attempting to improve to 48-2 in its last 50 games against ACC Atlantic Division teams, including games against typical Atlantic division foes in the division-free season in 2020.

*Clemson attempting to earn its 100th victory against Power Five opponents since 2013. Clemson's 99 victories in that span against Power Five teams are the most in the country.

*Swinney (158) attempting to pull within one victory of Oklahoma's Bob Stoops (160) for the second-most victories in the first 15 seasons of a head coaching career in FBS history.

*Clemson attempting to play a 150th consecutive game since losing back-to-back games in a single season. Clemson's 149-game streak dating to 2011 is the nation's longest active streak.

*Clemson entering the game as one of only two programs in the country not to have allowed a play from scrimmage of 50 yards or more this season (UCLA). Clemson is the only program in the country to have not allowed a 30-plus-yard run or a 50-plus-yard pass.

*Clemson (472) needing three sacks to reach 475 sacks since 2012. The next-closest team in the country is Alabama (432).

*Clemson (1,232) needing 18 tackles for loss to become the first program to reach 1,250 TFLs since 2012. Alabama ranks second in that span with 204 fewer tackles for loss than Clemson.