LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Beating Clemson at home is no easy task, as many teams in the ACC can testify.

The Tigers were 82-4 at Memorial Stadium since 2011. They were also on a 22-game winning streak in home night games; The last team to beat Clemson at night in Death Valley was Florida State’s national champion in 2013.

The energy and noise that a hostile crowd in Death Valley can produce in prime time is something few programs in college football can rival. Even former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson failed to conquer them during his time as a Cardinal.

But none of that mattered for Louisville last Saturday night.

A decade after joining the ACC, the Cardinals were finally able to get the monkey off their backs, handing the No. 11 Tigers a decisive 33-21 defeat in Death Valley. Louisville was previously 0-8 all-time against Clemson.

Afterwards, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney presented Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm with his flowers for their work.

“I give all the credit to Louisville, coach Brohm and his staff…it’s not easy to win here,” he said. “They came here and kicked our tails. We need to get back to work.”

Swinney also brushed off possible excuses when asked about the different reasons for the Tigers’ loss and continued to heap praise on Brohm.

“It’s not about any of that… I’m out of coaching tonight,” he said.

Swinney’s praise for Brohm and Louisville is not in vain. Almost from the jump the Cardinals established themselves as the more determined and physical team of the evening; The actions of both coaches and players added fuel to the subversive fire.

“I’m really proud of our football team,” Brohm said after the game. “I think our players and coaches have worked hard all week. We’ve had to deal with some challenges along the way. It hasn’t been perfect, it hasn’t been easy, but we keep working.

“A lot of new players stepped up and played hard. In this environment, against a really good, hot team, we had to come out and play hard the whole game. We showed great pace. We stopped. We were very good defensively, much better in many aspects, that That’s why I’m proud of our team.”

On offense, Louisville managed 210 yards and 7.8 yards rushing per carry; true freshman phenom Isaac Brown rushes for 151 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Cardinals held a prolific Clemson offense, allowing just 4.5 yards per play and one score on their first nine drives. Later on special teams, Louisville blocked two field goal attempts by the Tigers, while Brock Travelstead attempted four field goals.

Putting it all together, it gave Louisville its most road wins in program history. The previous high was when the Cardinals knocked off No. 13 Southern Miss in 2000.

“I think it was special,” linebacker Ashton Gillotte said when asked what it meant to finally beat Clemson. “I think our players have been waiting for it. Since I’ve been here, we’ve had games against Clemson that we really should have won. It’s a good feeling to be able to make that mark, to leave our mark on history. On this program and being able to finish it – it’s still on the way.”

(Jeff Brohm, Dabo Swinney photo by Ken Ruinard – Imagn Images)

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