Is Will Gardner U of L's starter again?

CLEMSON, S.C. – Sweat beaded on Will Gardner's forehead and his black hair matted over his temples as he answered questions after the University of Louisville football team's 23-17 loss at Clemson on Saturday.

It was a striking image considering that Gardner hadn't broken a sweat for the first 35 minutes or so of the game.

The quarterback, Louisville's starter for the first four games this year, had been relegated to the sidelines. He was fully healthy but out of favor with U of L coaches, who instead chose freshman Reggie Bonnafon as their starter.

But Louisville's stagnant first-half offense drew concerns from those same coaches, and a pair of three-and-out series to start the third quarter prompted their call for a change. Louisville handed the reins of the offense back to Gardner.

That's why the 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore looked drained after Saturday's game, one that U of L surely feels it should have won in the final minute.

Gardner completed 10 of 16 passes in relief, throwing for 150 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he put some punch in Louisville's passing game, looking calm and accurate for much of his second-half appearance.

Even though his final pass fell incomplete from Clemson's 2-yard line, Gardner may have won the starting job back.

"He came in and gave us a lift," U of L coach Bobby Petrino said. "He made some good decisions."

No, it wasn't Louisville's plan coming into the game. The Cardinals (5-2, 3-2 in the ACC) wanted to use Bonnafon's dual-threat talent to try to offset Clemson's ferocious pass rush.

Yet slowly but surely it became clear that Clemson didn't fear Bonnafon as a passer. The young quarterback wasn't completely at fault for that – his receivers dropped two of his most important early passes – but the Cardinals couldn't move the ball.

"We ran the ball pretty good at times and then they started putting nine guys down to the run, so we tried to take some shots down the field and missed on a couple," Petrino said. "We thought that making the move to Will gave us the opportunity to throw the ball a little better."

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The change had immediate impact. Even after Gardner cut daisies with his first throw, underthrowing a wide-open Keith Towbridge, Louisville drove 40 yards on five plays and tied the game at 17.

Gardner's two passes, both rifled spirals over the middle, made up all but one yard of the drive. His 22-yard touchdown toss to Eli Rogers was right on the money.

"Everything was clicking on that first drive," Gardner said. "Just a couple passes here and there got guys' confidence back up. Nothing I did was out of the ordinary. We just got guys open."

What Gardner did was ignite a flamed-out offense.

No, Louisville didn't score again after that first drive. No, Louisville didn't get a touchdown after getting first-and-goal from the Clemson 8-yard line with a minute to go.

But Gardner's quick decision-making and fast release made the offensive line's job easier, even as crowd noise threw them off-kilter for multiple late-game penalties.

And now Louisville's coaching staff has a question to answer about its quarterback position. Does it build on Gardner's relief appearance and give him the job again, or stick with the young stalwart in Bonnafon?

It's a question Petrino must answer sooner rather than later. There are only five games left this season.

Whatever they decide, Gardner's not sweating it.

"I have to be ready if my name's called and stay positive," Gardner said. "I can't sit and pout. I have to stay positive for these guys."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).