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Clemson vs. Louisville: Preview, predictions, TV schedule and more

By Cody Williams

CLEMSON, SC - OCTOBER 01: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals looks to avoid the tackle of Ryan Carter #31 of the Clemson Tigers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SC - OCTOBER 01: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals looks to avoid the tackle of Ryan Carter #31 of the Clemson Tigers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The Clemson Tigers and Louisville Cardinals face off in a huge ACC matchup in College Football Week 3, and here’s a preview and prediction for the matchup.

When the Louisville Cardinals and Clemson Tigers met last season, there were College Football Playoff implications. The Cardinals went to Death Valley as the undefeated third-ranked team in the country to face the also-undefeated No. 5 ranked Tigers. What ensued was one of the best games of the entire 2016 season.

After a scoreless first quarter Deshaun Watson jumped on Louisville, tossing three second-quarter touchdowns and jumping out to a 28-10 lead. Eventual Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, however, answered with 16-straight points in the third quarter to close the gap to two points and then take the lead in the fourth. However, it was Watson playing the hero in the end with two late touchdown passes to give Clemson the 42-36 victory.

Now the two programs are set to square off again, this time with Clemson ranked No. 3 and Louisville at 14th. Each team’s rankings aren’t all that’s different, either. The Cardinals offense lost a litany of weapons and the defense lost talent as well. Meanwhile, the Clemson offense is almost entirely new at skill positions, most notably with Kelly Bryant replacing Watson.

RELATED: SportsBook Review has the latest Clemson-Louisville odds

Just for good measure in the name of changes, the 2017 meeting between these two is also at Louisville this time around. With all of that, you can almost throw what happened last year out the window — save for Jackson, of course. These are two very different teams, but the stakes still remain quite high as there are major ACC repercussions and potential CFP implications as well.

So what will happen on Saturday in Louisville? Let’s dive deep into the matchup.

TV Info and Betting Odds

Given the high-profile nature of this ACC clash, it only stands to reason that it will be pretty easy to find and watch. That’s why ABC will take on the broadcast on Saturday night in primetime. Yes, there are other big primetime games in Week 3, but there’s no question that this one will have most fans’ attention. And frankly, it should. But you need to make sure you know when and where to watch to make that happen.

As such, let’s take a look at the TV info for this matchup:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Louisville, KY
Stadium: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium
TV Info: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN, FuboTV

To further get you prepared going into this matchup on Saturday, let’s look at the betting odds coming into the contest from Bookmaker via Sportsbook Review:

Point Spread: Clemson -3.5
Moneyline: Clemson -165, Louisville +145
Over/Under: 58

It stands to reason that Clemson would be favored in this matchup, even playing on the road. The Tigers are the higher-ranked team and, for the most part, have looked more impressive than Louisville to this point in the season. Of course, odds only matter but so much as it’s what goes down for 60 minutes on the field that’s important.

With that in mind, let’s dive deeper into this matchup on Saturday, starting with the keys for the Tigers on the road.

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