Scott Satterfield says win over Clemson would be 'huge'

Louisville has quietly won four straight games to earn itself bowl eligibility as coach Scott Satterfield readies for a brutal closing stretch to the regular season. But with tough games comes opportunity and that’s what Satterfield sees: a win over Clemson this weekend could provide a huge lift for his program.

Sure, the Tigers are coming off their first loss of the season, which might take a little bit of shine off a potential upset, but any time you play a nationally televised game against a top-10 team there is a little extra pep in the step.

“It would be huge,” Satterfield said, discussing what a win would mean. “Obviously to beat a team so recognizable like Clemson that has won national championships, that has won 38 straight at home, it certainly makes the future of your program look really good. It impacts recruits, it impacts the future that way, which is huge, obviously.”

The Cardinals certainly are capable of pulling off the upset, especially if quarterback Malik Cunningham stays hot.

Louisville enters the game as a seven-point underdog, according to consensus lines posted by VegasInsider.com. So while a Cardinals win would be an upset, Vegas clearly doesn’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility.

“It also just proves that we’re headed in the right direction, to know that, ‘Hey, we’re not there yet, obviously, but we want to continue to get better and better as a football team,'” Satterfield said. “This would be another step in that direction.”

Win over Clemson will take physical effort

If there’s one key to a win over Clemson, coach Dabo Swinney might have provided it this week in breaking down his team’s loss to Notre Dame.

Quite simply: Knock the Tigers around in the trenches.

“Just physically got our butts kicked. It’s real simple. It is,” Swinney said of the loss to the Fighting Irish. “We did a lot of technical things wrong, too. Didn’t take care of the ball. They block a punt on the opening possession on the most basic thing that you could ask, and we don’t do it. Momentum, turnovers, it’s hard to turn that on the road.”

Whether Louisville has the horses to get that done remains to be seen, but the Cardinals know they can kick up some dirt and get people to take notice should they pull it off.

The two teams will meet Saturday in a game that kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET at Clemson, with a national broadcast on ESPN.