LOUISVILLE – Clemson found a way to win on the road at Louisville on Saturday night despite trailing by a touchdown entering the fourth quarter. The Tigers pulled it out with 13 points in the final frame to claim a 30-24 victory.

If it feels like all their games so far have gone down to the wire, it is because for the most part they have. All of Clemson’s games against Power Five opponents this season have been decided by 10 points or less.

And this is the second time in as many weeks the Tigers overcame a deficit in the fourth quarter to win in the final minutes. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney breathed a sigh of relief after his team’s goal line stand on Saturday night.

“Well, it’s a little different, you know?” Swinney said. “We’re keeping everybody. We’ve blown a lot of people out the last few years and everybody complains about that. Hopefully everybody is staying engaged until the last minute.”

Louisville ran three plays from Clemson’s 2-yard line in the game’s final minute. But once again, the Tigers stood strong on defense to put the game on ice.

Swinney pointed out the value of winning close games in terms of developing young players.

“It is going to make us better,” Swinney said. “It is hard to win, and I’m just really proud of our guys for finding a way and this is a good start to November for us and we have a couple games at home so hopefully we can keep momentum and keep battling.”

Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott credited the program’s culture for inspiring players like D.J. Uiagalelei, Will Shipley and Joseph Ngata to play through pain and battle until the final whistle.

“These guys love each other, they are great character young men, and they haven’t buckled under the pressure or adversity,” Elliott said. “It has made them stronger and showed the character of our program.”

Elliott raved about the ability of his offense and the team as a whole to stare down adversity and injuries to get the job done.

For Elliott and Swinney, winning close games results from resting on solid foundation.

“That’s something that coach Swinney has been talking about over the past couple of weeks is to stand on the foundation of the program which starts with effort, toughness and being physical while having an unshakable belief, belief in yourself and belief in the team with a good attitude,” Elliott said.

Clemson returns to action on Saturday as it hosts UConn at Memorial Stadium at noon.