That's exactly what faces the No. 3 University of Louisville football team this weekend when the Cardinals face No. 5 Clemson in front of 81,000 raucous fans at Clemson Memorial Stadium on ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Samantha Ponder announcing.
The Cardinals, who are 0-2 all-time against Clemson, have dropped both games by a combined nine points, including a 23-17 defeat in Clemson in 2014, with the ball sitting on the Tigers' 2-yard line on the game's final play.
However, this time the stakes will be extremely high, but the opponent for the Cardinals remains the same in Clemson – runners-up in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
"We are looking forward to this next game, you know this is an exciting game," UofL head coach Bobby Petrino said. "We tell our players they come to the University of Louisville for to play in games like this."
Petrino added, "They are a very, very good football team. They have a lot of continuity as far as what they do offensively, defensively, and special teams. And they really play the game well."
Clemson is 4-0 after a 26-7 win over Georgia Tech on Thursday night, and are one of the most balanced teams in the country, with an explosive offense and solid defense. The Cardinals have spent a lot of time watching the Tigers, and know they are one of the nation's elite teams.
"We spent quite a bit of time on Clemson you know," Petrino said. "Obviously, when you looked at our schedule, and you say what gives you a chance to compete to win the division, it goes through Florida State and Clemson. And Clemson was in the national championship game last year, so we have obviously done a lot of work on them."
Heisman trophy finalist, Deshaun Watson is one of the most dangerous players in the country on the sideline for Clemson. Through four games, Watson has passed for 996 yards and nine touchdowns, while running for another 120.
"One thing we know about Deshaun's he throws the deep ball as well as anybody," Petrino said. He was one of the great deep ball throwers in the country and he is able to tuck the ball and make plays in third down conversions with his legs so that's always a concern."
"A quarterback that can run out and make plays when other things break down so that makes us be more discipline in our rush lanes and be able to make sure there is nowhere to go."
On the other side, the Cardinals have their own version at the quarterback in sophomore phenom Lamar Jackson, who leads the nation with 25 touchdowns, and is averaging 131.5 yards on the ground and 332.5 yards through the air.
With numbers like that, Jackson has been the talk of college football, but the sophomore has continued to work hard and is the ultimate team player.
"He really is a great team player," Petrino said. He really understands that his teammates are working extremely hard, and working hard. So I think he's hard on himself because he wants to do everything right."
While Jackson has received most of the attention, the Cards are certainly more than a one-man show. Senior Brandon Radcliff has produced three-straight 100-yard games and is second on the team with 427 yards, while averaging 9.3 yards per carry.
"Brandon's helped him (Jackson) a lot," Petrino said. "One of the things I talked to our staff about every week is let's be good at knowing what runs we can hand the ball to Brandon and let him run and make yards. Brandon's really doing a great job of hitting the holes, I think his vision and his confidence is better than it's ever been."
With one of the biggest games in school history looming, the Cardinals have confidence know they have played Clemson to a pair of one possession losses, but have come up short in both losses.
"Hopefully it gives them confidence knowing that we're right there to compete with them in the fourth quarter," Petrino said. "We know that we need to learn how to finish games in the fourth quarter, and you know, the opportunities are there, you just need to take advantage of them."
