On This Date: 2016 (5)Clemson- 42 (3)Louisville- 36

Oct 1, 2020, 8:54 AM

10/01/2016
Clemson, SC

Truly one of the best games in Death Valley history

One For The Ages: Watson's Five TDs lift No. 5 Clemson to 42-36 win over No. 3 Louisville

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had a simple message for his defense in facing Louisville star Lamar Jackson.

"If he's Superman," Swinney told them, "we're going to be the Kryptonite."

No. 5 Clemson did just enough, rallying for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and stopping Jackson and No. 3 Louisville a yard short on fourth down with 33 seconds left to hold on for a 42-36 victory Saturday night.

The Tigers (5-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied behind Deshaun Watson's five touchdowns, the last two coming in the final seven minutes, after Louisville (4-1, 2-1) wiped out an 18-point lead behind another standout performance by Jackson.

Watson was no slouch. He had his errors -- a career-high three interceptions and a fumble -- but in the end found a way to succeed with 306 yards on 20-of-31 passing.

"It just shows even with the hiccups how good we are and how good we can be," Watson said. "We found a way how to handle adversity."

The Tigers looked like they had this one wrapped up before halftime, scoring four TDs in the second quarter to lead 28-10 at the break. Then "Action" Jackson got moving and the Cardinals (4-1, 2-1) scored on five consecutive possessions to take a 36-28 lead with 7:50 left.

Artavis Scott began Clemson's comeback with a 77-yard kickoff return and Watson found Mike Williams for a 20-yard scoring pass two plays later. Clemson forced Louisville to punt for the only time in the second half and Watson guided the game-winning drive, ending on a 31-yard TD catch by Jordan Leggett.

Jackson had one last surge, leading Louisville to Clemson's 9. But James Quick was knocked out of bounds Louisville's final play shy of the first down.

"Lamar knew where he needed to go with the ball and we came up a yard short," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said.

The Tigers have won 19 straight games at home, a streak that began after they lost their last top-five showdown -- when No. 5 Florida State defeated No. 3 Clemson 51-14 in 2013. In that one, Jameis Winston led a Seminoles rout.

Clemson made sure Jackson would not pull off another one.

"A lot of guys picked Louisville," Swinney said. "Rough night for you."

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Best Is The Standard

I was at a conference in Portland Oregon(sure glad that was in 2016) and my flight back to CLT was at Midnight local time. I watched this game at a dive bar called, Pour Sports, because a friend of mine suggested looking up the local Portland Clemson Club. They were a loosely affiliated group but they had a Facebook event to watch it at this bar. It was truly great to get to watch this game in friendly company when I thought I would be watching it alone. The moment the game ended I had to rush out to the street, take a street car to my hotel to get my bag, and then the lightrail to the airport to make my flight.

Bonus fun fact: I had originally planned to watch the game at this highly rated upscale sports bar just to try the place out(I was still on work so I could expense my bill mind you.) After switching to meeting the Clemson club, I found out that the place I originally planned to go was the location of the Portland Louisville Club watch party. That would led to a different, likely not better story.

On This Date: 2016 (5)Clemson- 42 (3)Louisville- 36

Re: On This Date: 2016 (5)Clemson- 42 (3)Louisville- 36

This is one of my top 5 experiences not in Death Valley!

Re: This is one of my top 5 experiences not in Death Valley!

A few years back, I was assigned to an Army Reserve

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