Can Clemson football recover from its historic loss to LSU?

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Clemson entered LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge as the less convincing team, but the goal was to at least compete and restore some confidence in the program.

Instead, LSU defeated Clemson 51-10, easily the most lopsided and humiliating loss of Dabo Swinney’s head coaching career. Clemson was outgained, 644-145, produced only eight first downs, and converted just one of its 13 third-down attempts. Clemson was physically dominated in every single phase of the game.

“The best thing about that one is it’s over,” Swinney said afterwards.

He described it as a “really poor performance” in which Clemson never gave itself an opportunity to settle into the game.

Now, with Georgia Southern coming to Memorial Stadium in Week 2 on Saturday, the Eagles will give Clemson its first chance to prove that Baton Rouge was a disaster as opposed to the program’s new reality.

Let's Do the Basics

The most concerning part of Clemson’s performance was the offensive line. Matt Luke’s unit failed to establish the running game or to consistently protect quarterbacks Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds.

Clemson finished with only 40 rushing yards on 26 attempts, averaging 1.5 yards per carry. The Tigers also gave up four sacks. Vizzina completed 10 of 16 passes for only 83 yards while Reynolds completed four of his six attempts for 22 yards.

Vizzina does not deserve all the blame for the pick-six. He had roughly 1.3 seconds to look at his first read and then had an LSU body flying at him with his arms up on third down, eventually throwing an interception to Jordan Ross.

The throw placed Clemson in a 17-3 hole late in the first quarter and changed the direction of the game.

This pattern of a quarterback having almost no time or support to establish a rhythm was consistent throughout the game. The running game created no threat, and Clemson’s offense repeatedly faced difficult down-and-distance situations. Luke's group looked overwhelmed and unprepared.

Clemson must give Vizzina a cleaner pocket against Georgia Southern. If the offensive line continues to struggle, changing quarterbacks will not fix the larger problem.

Georgia Southern is confident ahead of matchup vs Clemson

Georgia Southern is not intimidated by Clemson. Ten years ago, that sentence would have made me sound like a psychopath. But here we are. Defensive back Aaron Sears made that clear after watching Clemson’s loss to LSU.

“I don’t like jumping the gun,” Sears said, “but once I’ve seen some of the things I’ve seen, I was smiling pretty happy about our odds.”

That comment should be plastered on every single wall throughout Clemson’s football facility this week. Opposing players once approached Death Valley hoping to survive. Georgia Southern is now publicly discussing Clemson as vulnerable.

Sears’ confidence is understandable. Clemson’s offense failed to score a touchdown until the fourth quarter against LSU, while its defense allowed 38 first downs and 309 rushing yards. Georgia Southern will attempt to pressure Clemson’s quarterbacks, stop the running game, and see whether the Tigers become frustrated again.

Clemson cannot afford to overlook this matchup because of the name on the opposing jersey. Georgia Southern now believes it can win, and Clemson’s performance against LSU gave it a reason to believe.

Swinney pushed back this week when asked whether he regretted how Clemson’s roster was constructed.

“The season isn't over,” Swinney said. “We got one game; we got 11 more. What if we go 11-1?”

He is correct that one game does not determine an entire season, but one game where your line and defense made as many silly basic mistakes as they did shows a lot about where the program is currently at.

Nonetheless, Clemson still has time to improve and compete in the ACC. However, its response against Georgia Southern will reveal much more than the final score.

Simply winning the game will not answer every question. Clemson must dominate the line of scrimmage, establish a reliable running game, and give its quarterbacks enough time to operate. Clemson needs to take control early instead of allowing Georgia Southern to hang around and gain confidence.

The Tigers cannot afford for this game to turn into Week 2 against Troy last season.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Can Clemson football recover from its historic loss to LSU?

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