Louisville vs Clemson Round 3 – New ACC Rivals Clash at Death Valley

A Little More Than Your Typical Midseaon Match-up

It’s Dazzle vs Dazzle with everything at stake as No. 3 Louisville travels to Clemson to take on the No 5. Tigers. In what many are calling the Game of the Year, this Top 10 match-up will go a long way toward determining the College Football Playoff picture and the Heisman Trophy winner.

Both teams come in undefeated. The Cardinals (2-0 ACC, 4-0 Overall), led by electrifying quarterback Lamar Jackson, avoided a letdown last week as they followed up their 63-20 blowout of Florida State with an easy win over Marshall. And although Clemson has not quite lived up to their huge preseason expectations, Tigers QB Deshaun Watson can take over a game just as quickly as Jackson.

The winner will emerge as the clear favorite to win the ACC and have legitimate national title hopes over the second half of the season. Clemson’s 20-17 victory last year was a defensive battle, but with Watson continuing his dominant play and Jackson’s meteoric emergence, Saturday night’s game should be long on scoring and pyrotechnics.

The Voters Are Watching

The quarterback match up alone justifies all the hype surrounding this game. Sophomore phenom Lamar Jackson has accounted for, count ’em, 25 touchdowns this year. His almost 2000 total yards this season have installed him as the hands down front runner for the Heisman Trophy this year. The Clemson defense will be the toughest he’s faced so far and it will be fascinating to see how he handles their speed.

Jaw dropping plays have become almost old hat for Clemson junior Deshaun Watson. He has demonstrated flash and substance equal to Jackson’s over his entire career. He can beat the quickest cornerbacks downfield with either his legs or his arm and is a nightmare match up for all three levels of a defense. A win on Saturday would cement his legacy as one of the most dynamic college players in recent memory.

Louisville-Clemson is a big match up for the early 2016 college football season. Saturday night 8 p.m. on ABC.