Clemson Continues to Fall
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Clemson continues to fall as they suffer a crushing defeat to LSU 51-10 Saturday night. It was the outcome many expected, but it looked much worse than we could’ve imagined.
Dabo Swinney’s team looked completely outmatched, especially in the trenches. This was the largest deficit the program has faced in Swinney’s tenure. Lane Kiffin’s team looked every bit as good as advertised, while the questions surrounding Swinney’s future in Tigertown will be amplified. Swinney must find a way to get his team to respond the rest of the season following this ugly loss.
Clemson Continues to Fall
Offensive Line Struggles
The most glaring issue for Clemson was the offensive line. The offensive front was dominated by the LSU defensive line. Whether it was a run or pass, the Bayou Bengals were in the backfield on every play.
Chad Morris was brought in first and foremost to get the run game established on offense. Morris’ offense accumulated negative four rushing yards in the first half because they could not create any movement up front. By the end of the third quarter, Clemson had 0 rushing yards. LSU finished the game with 11 total tackles for loss.
The Bayou Tigers also got it done rushing the quarterback, racking up four sacks against the Palmetto Tigers’ offense. This made Christopher Vizzina’s first start on the road a nightmare. He finished the game completing just 10 of 16 passes for 83 yards and an interception. Swinney attempted to throw Tait Reynolds in the game to generate something on offense. However, the offensive line could not protect well enough for it to matter.
Reynolds’ first game of his college career ended with him completing four of his six pass attempts for just 22 yards. If Morris and offensive line coach Matt Luke can’t get this group corrected, it will be a long season for Clemson. Nothing good can come from this offense if the line continues to play as badly as it did to start the season.
Defense Gets Bullied
Flipping sides, the defensive front for Clemson was just as disappointing. LSU rushed for over 200 yards before halftime, and finished the game with 309 yards total on the ground. Running back Dilin Jones could not be stopped as he rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on the night. This was a result of the Clemson defensive front being unable to get any penetration.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt did not have the best day passing, but made a huge impact in the ground game as well. Leavitt had 113 yards rushing and two touchdowns as well, tying him and Jones as the top rushers for the game. As much as Leavitt struggled in the first half passing the ball, the success of the run game eventually opened things up enough for Leavitt to get himself a touchdown pass before the night ended.
The Bayou Bengals totaled 644 yards of offense against Clemson. Much of that had to do with Tom Allen’s defensive line not being able to stuff the run or get pressure on Leavitt without extra rushers. Somebody on the defensive front needs to step up if this unit wants to see any improvement.
How Does Clemson Recover?
This was the worst-case scenario for Swinney’s team to start the season. To get blown out in a primetime game makes this feel like the true end of an era for the Clemson program. It is clear this team is not a playoff-caliber team, which was already a far stretch for this group coming into this game. In week one, it’s hard to know if LSU is that good or things have gotten that bad for Swinney’s team.
The good thing is that next week’s competition is not as stiff. Also, the game is at home as Georgia Southern comes to town. This team has got to drastically improve and find their stride over the next seven days, though. It will all start with finding ways to improve along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. If the Tigers want to find any success this season, the offensive and defensive lines need to be better.
Main Image: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Related Content:
Giving grades to Arkansas and the start of the Silverfield era
UGA Overcomes Heat and Tennessee State
Kentucky Starts the Will Stein era
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos