No. 11 Clemson and Louisville get together on Thursday night in the Bluegrass State to kick off their conference schedules, and it’s a study of two teams seemingly going in different directions. The Tigers are 2-0 after beating a pair of overmatched teams, and things seem to be going pretty well.
How to watch Clemson vs. Louisville on TV or online, plus 3 things to know
Can the Cardinals pull the upset on the Tigers at home? Here’s how you can tune in and what to look for.
Louisville, meanwhile, is 0-2 after losing to Auburn and Houston, and there's no indication that anyone knows who the quarterback is. Reggie Bonnafon was pulled for Lamar Jackson in the opener, and Jackson was pulled for Kyle Bolin in the next game.
There's no doubt that the Cards will be the best team Clemson has played so far this year, but Louisville is going to need a massive improvement from whoever is taking the snaps if it wants to keep up with Deshaun Watson and the Clemson offense.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and David Pollack
Radio: Clemson | Louisville
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: Clemson is favored by 6.5 points.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Shakin’ The Southland for Clemson fans and Card Chronicle for Louisville fans.
Three big things to know
1. Can Louisville finally get a win? The Cardinals have lost both of their games by one score, but disarray at the quarterback position makes it feel like the season could slip away if they don’t figure it out fast. Bolin has the highest yards/attempt (8.72) and quarterback rating (147.2) of the three, but he only had 18 attempts against Houston so the sample size is still tiny. Whether Bobby Petrino goes with Bolin, Lamar Jackson, or Reggie Bonnafon, he’d better be right.
Don’t worry though, it’s going to be a blackout in Louisville, and that’s never gone badly before.
2. Just how good is Clemson? The Tigers have easily dispatched Wofford and Appalachian State by an average score of 45-10, so it’s hard to tell just how good they are until they play real competition. Despite its problems, Louisville will give Clemson a measuring stick to see where they stand.
3. Deshaun Watson's time to shine. First big national TV game since having his ACL repaired at the end of last season, so the world is anxious to see how he looks. He's thrown for 442 yards, five touchdowns and one pick in two games thus far in 2015, and he's a danger to score on every play so long as he's healthy.
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