As far as football games go, it doesn’t get much better than the instant classic Clemson and Louisville played Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, the current front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, and Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson, one of the preseason favorites for the award, both put on a show in this highly-anticipated matchup between top-5 Atlantic Coast Conference teams.
Unfortunately for Jackson and the No. 3 Cardinals, they came up one yard short in the end.
The Cardinals faced a fourth-and-12 from the Tigers’ 14-yard line after a false start moved them back, but it appeared as though they called the perfect play on a short pass from Jackson to James Quick. However, Quick didn’t cut back in and instead went out of bounds 1-yard short of the first-down marker.
THIS CLOSE. #SidelineCam https://t.co/2EJq92TDHj
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 2, 2016
1. YARD. SHORT. pic.twitter.com/uKHBpaLVZQ
— Cover 3 Podcast (@Cover3Podcast) October 2, 2016
It was shocking that the Cardinals were in that position to begin with, though, after the Tigers built up a 28-10 halftime lead at home. But Jackson got his team back in it before Watson did his best Tim Tebow impersonation with a jump pass to give Clemson the lead for good.
Deshaun Watson just went full Tebow… I'm all about it pic.twitter.com/riE0eFLCRC
— Butch Hussy (@Kooz_WRLD) October 2, 2016
Thumbnail photo via Joshua S. Kelly/USA TODAY Sports Images