Louisville Football: 5 overreactions from Week 3 loss to Clemson

4. Clemson won at the line of scrimmage

There’s an old adage in football that the game is often won in the trenches, and on Saturday, the Clemson Tigers won that battle consistently on both sides of the ball.

Clemson’s defensive line performed at a near professional level, shutting down Louisville rushing game, which was held to only 116 yards on 27 carries, and consistently pressuring Lamar Jackson on seemingly every play.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers’ line held Louisville’s pass rush largely at bay for much of the day, only surrendering four sacks on 81 offensive snaps.

Without having to worry about pressure, the Tigers’ junior quarterback Kelly Bryant was able to throw for 316 yards on 22 completions and a touchdown and the team’s running game, led by Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster rushed for an insane 297 yards on 48 carries and four touchdowns.

As college football teams begin to recruit smaller and more athletic players to combat the spread schemes, Clemson  has instead chosen to recruit big, 300-plus pound men to fill in their lines, which has allowed them to bully opponents at the line of scrimmage.

Even though Louisville had the better player in Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, Clemson has built a better team, with a hard-nosed philosophy on both sides of the ball, and that’s not something that can change overnight.

If Louisville is ever going to be able to compete pound-for-pound against Clemson, it will need to start recruiting bigger and tougher players in the trenches.