The Clemson Tigers will square off against the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday night, a rematch from one of the closest games Clemson played last year. While Louisville is looking for revenge on their home field, we aren't so sure. Here are three reasons why the Tigers will win:
3) Louisville's lack of a passing game
Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino designs his offense around a potent passing attack, but the Cardinals have gotten poor quarterback play this year. Three different players have thrown at least 13 passes (Reggie Bonafon, Lamar Jackson, Kyle Bolin), but as a team, Louisville has still thrown more interceptions (three) than touchdown passes (two). That's not a recipe for success against anybody, let alone the favorites to win the ACC.
2) Explosive offensive weapons
RB Wayne Gallman, TE Jordan Leggett, and WR's Mike Williams, Artavis Scott, and Charone Peake are all back and are poised to keep the Tigers' offense as one of the best in the country. All five guys have the speed and quickness to score on any given play, and that has allowed Clemson's offense to average 45 points per game so far this season. Simply put, Louisville doesn't have the defensive talent to stop this attack, nor the offensive firepower to match them.
1) Deshaun Watson's greatness
Watson started five games a true freshman, throwing for 1,466 yards and 14 touchdown passes with just two interceptions and completed 68% of this passes. Now as a bonafide Heisman candidate, he has completed over 77 percent of his passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns in limited work through the first two games.
Louisville has struggled defending spread offenses all year, which is why they're 0-2, and nobody runs it better than Watson. He should be in for a big day.
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