Clemson Tigers defensive stars to watch against the Louisville Cardinals

Six straight wins and six straight games in which Clemson Tigers the defense, so to speak, understood the task.

The Tigers (6-1, 5-0 ACC) haven’t played in their last four games despite giving up 31 points to Virginia two weeks ago. Clemson still scoring 18 points per game. That’s the kind of average points allowed that could allow the Tigers to continue their winning streak into November.

And the next three weeks will be critical. All three games are against ACC opponents, with three consecutive wins to make it happen Tigers finish the conference series undefeated.

Louisville (5-3, 3-2) has won just two of its last five games, and outside of a 52-45 shootout against Miami, the Cardinals defense did a good, if not great, job of limiting trips to the end zone. Take away the Hurricanes’ scoring and the Cardinals scored 28 points per game.

Here are three defensemen to watch on every team heading into Saturday’s contest at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

DL Peter Woods

His statistics during the season don’t look the best, but it must be remembered that he missed several games due to injury, and his teammates made up for the deficit very well. With two weeks of rest, he will be able to build on the 12 tackles and one sack he has accumulated in the games he has had the opportunity to play in this season.

LB Wade Woodaz

He has some of the most balanced stats found for a linebacker in the ACC. Woodaz has 49 tackles, including 25 solo receptions (24 assists). He also has two sacks, an interception and two passes defended. Equally significant are the three forced fumbles he created against Clemson in the first seven games.

DE TJ Parker

No one was better at getting to the Clemson quarterback than Parker, who leads the team with five sacks. He also made two fluffs. While linebacker Barrett Carter had another successful season with three sacks, Parker set the pace in the pass rush, and now that Woods is even healthier, the pass rush appears to be in full force.

DE Tramel Logan

With the Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik entering the field as one of the best quarterbacks in the country, getting a player like Logan into the pass rush is crucial for the Cardinals. He is tied for the team lead with three sacks, but against Boston College he had just two stops and no sacks.

LB TJ Quinn

Start of the game and end of the game Quinn sets the tempo of the game as a full-back. He leads the Cardinals with 45 tackles and has a sack. Last week, Quinn recorded some of his best numbers of the season against Boston College (nine tackles). If a key stop needs to be made in this game, you can count on Quinn to make it.

DL Ashton Gillotte

With Klubnik and Clemson backing Phil Mafaha among the top running backs in the ACC, acquiring defenders on the defensive line will be key for Louisville. Gillotte may be one of the players to watch here. He has 27 tackles and two sacks, but is coming off a game in which he had 2.5 tackles for loss.