Clemson takes a huge step towards a bowl game in disappointing season with road win over No. 20 Louisville
- - Clemson takes a huge step towards a bowl game in disappointing season with road win over No. 20 Louisville
Nick BrombergNovember 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM
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Clemson is a massive step toward avoiding its first regular-season losing record under coach Dabo Swinney.
The Tigers somehow got past No. 20 Louisville 20-19 on the road Friday night to move to 5-5 in a game that exemplified the chaos of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Clinging to a one-point lead, Clemson was set to punt the ball away to the cardinals with 2:34 remaining. However, the bounced before it got to punter Jack Smith and he couldn't handle it cleanly. That set up the Cardinals for a potential game-winning field goal in Clemson territory.
OMG Clemson pic.twitter.com/a2m06I7yOE
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 15, 2025
The key word there is “potential.” After kicker Cooper Ranvier had missed a field goal and an extra point earlier in the game, Louisville coach Jeff Brohm set out Nick Keller. The 46-yard attempt sailed wide.
NICK KELLER MISSES THE KICK WIDE RIGHTLOUISVILLE'S THIRD MISS OF THE NIGHTYOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME#Clemson #GoCards pic.twitter.com/gzSpe93Jd8
— Carter J. Lowe 🦡 (@CarterLoweNCAA) November 15, 2025
The Cardinals had one last-ditch chance to get into field goal range with 30 seconds remaining, but after starting at their own 8-yard line, Louisville never got into Clemson territory.
The loss eliminates the Cardinals from contention in a very crowded ACC. Five teams entered Week 12 with one conference loss and Miami and Louisville were right behind with two conference losses. Now the Cardinals are 4-3 in the ACC and 7-3 overall.
Clemson is now .500 with games remaining against Furman and at South Carolina. The game against lower-tier Furman should be a win for Clemson and get the Tigers bowl-eligible before the rivalry game with the Gamecocks.
Had Clemson lost to Louisville, it would have been (probably) facing a must-win game against South Carolina for a bowl game. While the Gamecocks are also in the midst of a down season, they’ve won two of the last three games against the Tigers.
It would have been a perilous spot for Swinney’s team as it’s scuffled through the season. Clemson’s worst regular-season record in his 17-plus season tenure is 6-6 in 2010. For as bad as 2025 has been for the Tigers, it should at least not be worse than that.
Source: “AOL Sports”
