Greg McElroy previews outcome of pivotal Clemson vs. Louisville matchup

There will not be a more entertaining conference championship race down the stretch than the ACC. Almost every single game brings importance, helping decide who winds up in Charlotte. Saturday’s showdown between the Clemson Tigers and Louisville Cardinals is no different.

Predictions have rolled in for this one, including from ESPN’s Greg McElroy. He is going with Dabo Swinney‘s ballclub, picking them to pull off an upset. This would bring Clemson back to .500, while also likely ending any shot Louisville has of achieving long-term goals.

“I’m buying that the swagger that Clemson carried with them last week, I think it carries over,” McElroy said via Always College Football. “I think Clemson might have turned the corner. I’m going to take the Tigers on the road. I think they will get a hard-fought and resilient victory over the Louisville Cardinals.”

The “swagger” McElroy discussed comes from last week’s victory over Florida State. Maybe not the intense matchup some thought would be coming. But Clemson still showed out and put together a two-touchdown win in front of the home fans. Quite different from the previous two games, both losses on their own turf.

Swinney continues to be one of the more polarizing head coaches in the sport. A winner of two national championships, plenty still question his approach to the modern era. Early-season results only added fuel to the fire. Maybe that noise gets turned down another notch or two by winning on Saturday.

Louisville finds itself in a bit of a lull at the moment. Losing to Cal threw a major wrench in the season, dropping them to 7-2 overall and 4-2 within the ACC. Regaining confidence, or swagger, is needed before walking onto the field.

“They enter this game in pretty disappointing fashion after their overtime loss in the hands of Cal,” McElroy said. “They were, at that point, prior to the loss, legitimate ACC Championship contenders. They had College Football Playoff aspirations. And those evaporated in shocking defeat last week.”

Kickoff from L&N Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. A fun atmosphere should build since kickoff comes once the sun goes down. Plenty of fans in the Commonwealth will be excited, especially with Clemson in town. Those same people will be hoping to prove McElroy wrong as well. His prediction lies with the Tigers, believing some momentum can carry over — throwing another curve in the ACC madness.