Clemson Football: Studs and Duds in victory vs. Louisville

2 of 4

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – OCTOBER 19: Travis Etienne #9 of the Clemson Tigers runs with the ball against the Louisville Cardinals at Cardinal Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

More Studs

James Skalski

What about James Skalski’s performance Saturday afternoon? We talk a lot about Isaiah Simmons and that vaunted pass-rush up-front, but James Skalski was all over the field Saturday, as well.

He led the Tigers in tackles with nine and had one sack. The linebacker has really come into his own over the last couple of weeks and Skalski is playing at a high level.

He did an excellent job pressuring the quarterback and coming up in run-support this past week and it should be expected that he will build off of that success through the rest of the season.

Travis Etienne

Travis Etienne carried the Clemson offense for much of the first half. The junior RB finished the day with 14 carries for 192 yards and one touchdown.

While the game wasn’t in doubt, it was still uncomfortably close for Clemson football fans late in the third quarter. That’s when Etienne reeled off a 49-yard run for a touchdown and opened the Tigers lead to 24-3, putting the Cardinals away for good.

Etienne’s reemergence these past two weeks is a good sign for Tiger fans moving forward.

Justyn Ross’s TD grab

Clemson led just 10-3 with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Trevor Lawrence had completed a couple of nice passes and had the Tigers on the right side of the 50-yard line. He was rushed out of the pocket and raced toward the sideline. As Lawrence progressed to the sideline, he threw the ball up for grabs, trusting his receiver, and it paid off for Clemson football.

Justyn Ross came down with a huge grab in the back of the end zone and helped give the Tigers a little breathing room heading into halftime.

That reception couldn’t have come at a greater time and it helped give Clemson football control of the ballgame at a time where things were certainly in doubt.

BT Potter’s redemption

No one was more excited than Dabo Swinney to congratulate BT Potter on a 51-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Potter drew the wrath of Swinney and was supplanted on the depth chart for extra points and short-yardage field goal kicks by Steve Sawicki for the Louisville game after he missed a chip-shot field goal the previous week against Florida State.

Early in the matchup against Louisville, Potter drilled that 51-yard field goal and showed Tiger nation he is more than capable of being an elite place-kicker.

Home/Clemson Football