The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2017 season / Reign #298 · Game 1,518 of 1,641
September 16, 2017 Week 3 · Regular Season Belt defended

Clemson defends the belt, 47–21, on the road at Louisville.

Home · Challenger
LouisvilleAP No. 14 21
AT
Away · Defending Holder
ClemsonAP No. 3 47

AP poll, week 3: Clemson No. 3 at Louisville No. 14 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Clemson came in 250 days into reign #298, which began with a win over Alabama, with 2 defenses already behind it; this was its third defense. Clemson went on to defend it 3 more times before Syracuse took it on October 13, 2017, 277 days after the reign began.

For Louisville this was its 3rd shot at the belt; it had never held the belt.

This is the only time Clemson and Louisville have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Clemson's defense dominated Louisville in the first half, with Kelly Bryant engineering efficient scoring drives while the Cardinals struggled to keep pace. Bryant found Hunter Renfrow for 40 yards early, then scored on a short 8-yard run, and later connected with Ray-Ray McCloud for a stunning 79-yard touchdown pass that put Clemson ahead 17-7 at intermission. Louisville's Lamar Jackson kept the game competitive with a touchdown pass to Charles Standberry in the first quarter and added two more scores in the second half, but Clemson's defense sealed the win with Dorian O'Daniel returning an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter. Despite Louisville's late-game heroics including an 78-yard bomb from Jackson to Traveon Samuel and multiple touchdown passes to stay in the fight, Clemson's balanced attack with Travis Etienne's 81-yard touchdown run and superior time of possession proved decisive in holding the belt.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 LouisvilleClemson
Total yards433613
Rushing yards116297
Passing yards317316
First downs2125
3rd down conv.5/169/17
Turnovers10
Penalties–yards4–354–30
Time of possession24:2835:32

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 15:00Clemson+31 ydGreg Huegel kickoff for 65 yds , Seth Dawkins return for 31 yds to the Lvile 31
Q1 11:46Clemson+40 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Hunter Renfrow for 40 yds to the Lvile 20 for a 1ST down
Q1 9:45Clemson+8 ydKelly Bryant run for 8 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q1 4:22Louisville+11 ydLamar Jackson pass complete to Charles Standberry for 11 yds for a TD, (Blanton Creque KICK)
Q1 5:28Louisville+30 ydLamar Jackson run for 30 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Q1 4:43Louisville+20 ydLamar Jackson run for 10 yds to the Clem 21 for a 1ST down CLEMSON Penalty, Personal Foul (Tanner Muse) to the Clem 11 for a 1ST down
Q2 11:52Clemson+42 ydGreg Huegel 42 yd FG MISSED
Q2 6:57Clemson+31 ydGreg Huegel 31 yd FG GOOD
Q2 6:57Clemson+20 ydGreg Huegel kickoff for 64 yds , Seth Dawkins return for 20 yds to the Lvile 21
Q2 4:06Clemson+79 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Ray-Ray McCloud for 79 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel PAT BLOCKED)
Q2 0:28Clemson+49 ydGreg Huegel 49 yd FG GOOD
Q2 0:28Clemson+20 ydGreg Huegel kickoff for 65 yds , Seth Dawkins return for 20 yds to the Lvile 20
Q3 8:57Louisville-44 ydLamar Jackson pass intercepted for a TD Dorian O'Daniel return for 44 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q3 2:16Clemson+1 ydKelly Bryant run for 1 yd for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q3 4:43Clemson+26 ydTavien Feaster run for 26 yds to the Lvile 16 for a 1ST down
Q4 13:45Louisville+36 ydLamar Jackson pass complete to Jaylen Smith for 36 yds for a TD, (Blanton Creque KICK)
Q4 12:26Clemson+33 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Diondre Overton for 33 yds to the Lvile 39 for a 1ST down
Q4 11:56Clemson+39 ydAdam Choice run for 39 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q4 13:45Louisville+21 ydBlanton Creque kickoff for 65 yds , Travis Etienne return for 21 yds to the Clem 21
Q4 7:37Louisville+8 ydLamar Jackson pass complete to Dez Fitzpatrick for 8 yds for a TD, (Blanton Creque KICK)
Q4 8:30Louisville+30 ydLamar Jackson pass complete to Dez Fitzpatrick for 30 yds to the Clem 14 for a 1ST down
Q4 10:19Louisville+22 ydLamar Jackson pass complete to Traveon Samuel for 22 yds to the Lvile 49 for a 1ST down
Q4 6:13Clemson+81 ydTravis Etienne run for 81 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q4 6:13Clemson+20 ydGreg Huegel kickoff for 63 yds , Seth Dawkins return for 20 yds to the Lvile 22
Q4 1:50Louisville+78 ydLamar Jackson pass complete to Traveon Samuel for 78 yds to the Clem 4 for a 1ST down

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Louisville

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Lamar Jackson21/423177.53127.2

Clemson

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Kelly Bryant22/323169.91066.8
Hunter Johnson1/100.00033.5

Rushing

Louisville

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Lamar Jackson17643.8030
Malik Williams6355.8014
Reggie Bonnafon4174.307

Clemson

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Adam Choice44711.8139
Travis Etienne69816.3181
Tavien Feaster10929.2026
C.J. Fuller10343.407
Kelly Bryant18261.4214

Receiving

Louisville

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Traveon Samuel210050.0078
Jaylen Smith57915.8136
Dez Fitzpatrick23819.0130
Malik Williams33612.0019
Charles Standberry4348.5111
Seth Dawkins4287.0012
Micky Crum122.002

Clemson

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Ray-Ray McCloud711516.4179
Hunter Renfrow47117.8040
Diondre Overton24824.0033
Deon Cain4297.3011
Trevion Thompson11616.0016
Milan Richard11111.0011
C.J. Fuller11111.0011
Tee Higgins188.008
Tavien Feaster177.007
Will Swinney100.000
Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Louisville

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Stacy Thomas10500000
Zykiesis Cannon9600000
James Hearns8622000
Ronald Walker7600000
Chucky Williams5500200
Trevon Young5300000
Dee Smith5300000
Khane Pass5301100
Henry Famurewa5100000
Jonathan Greenard4311110
Trumaine Washington4300100
London Iakopo3311000
C.J. Avery3200000
G.G. Robinson2100000
Dorian Etheridge2100000
Lamarques Thomas1100000
De'Asian Richardson1000000
Tabarious Peterson1000000
Corey Reed1000000
TreSean Smith1000000

Clemson

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Isaiah Simmons8600000
Dorian O'Daniel6301001
Mark Fields5500000
Trayvon Mullen5300000
Van Smith4300000
Clelin Ferrell3200000
Nolan Turner2211000
Ryan Carter2200000
Kendall Joseph2200010
Dexter Lawrence2111000
Jalen Williams2100200
J.D. Davis2100000
James Skalski2100.5000
Tre Lamar2000000
Sterling Johnson1111000
Christian Wilkins1111000
Amir Trapp1100000
Denzel Johnson1100100
A.J. Terrell1100000
Logan Rudolph1100000
Chris Register100.50.5000
Jabril Robinson1000.5000
Judah Davis1000000
Austin Bryant1000000
Tanner Muse1000100
Chad Smith100.50.5000
K'Von Wallace1000100

Interceptions

Louisville

No recorded stats in this category.

Clemson

PlayerINTYDSTD
Dorian O'Daniel1441

Kick Returns

Louisville

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Seth Dawkins510521.0310

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Travis Etienne23015.0210

Kicking

Louisville

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Blanton Creque0/00.003/33

Clemson

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Greg Huegel2/366.7495/611

Punt Returns

Louisville

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Jaylen Smith133.030

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Ray-Ray McCloud393.0150

Punting

Louisville

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Mason King835043.80058

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Will Spiers420751.80064

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 400937461) · This game in the downloadable dataset