“Embarrassing”: Clemson Coach Still Not Over Dabo Swinney’s Humiliation Against Lane Kiffin’s LSU

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Three weeks have passed since Lane Kiffin’s LSU dismantled Dabo Swinney’s Clemson 51-10, and while the Tigers have gone 3-1 since, not everyone has moved on. LSU has found its footing after that opening-night disaster, but defensive coordinator Tom Allen still remembers exactly how things unfolded inside Tiger Stadium.

According to Clemson beat writer Chapel Fowler, Tom Allen is still haunted by the memories of the LSU opener, which he described as “embarrassing” for his defense. But the Tigers haven’t backed down.

Instead, they “relish the opportunity to play on a big stage against a team like that again in Miami.” Allen echoed that same determination on Saturday after Clemson’s 24-10 victory over the California Golden Bears, declaring, “We’ve gotta show we’re a different team.”

Dabo Swinney and Clemson have hit the reset button on their defense following linebacker Wade Woodaz’s departure. For the first time, Swinney had leaned heavily on the transfer portal to plug crucial gaps across the secondary and linebacking corps.

Clemson's defense has quietly turned things around since that rough start. Subscribe for more interesting stories.

The Tigers have brought in some serious firepower, including Penn State cornerback Elliot Washington II and Southern Miss safety Cory Myrick, as Swinney looks to rebuild a reshuffled defensive backfield and give Clemson’s defence a much-needed makeover.

Despite the defensive shake-up, Clemson preserved 57% of its defensive core, banking on senior defensive end Will Heldt and standout linebacker Sammy Brown to anchor the unit.

The Tigers also handed junior linebacker Kobe McCloud a significant promotion, thrusting him into his first full-time starting role alongside Brown.

Clemson entered the LSU clash confident in its defensive strength, but Lane Kiffin exposed the vulnerabilities within a unit still adjusting to new personnel. The Tigers surrendered 644 yards and struggled to gain control from the opening snap. Their inability to get off the field proved costly, allowing LSU to convert 11 of 16 third-down attempts (69%).

With a 47% early-down success rate, LSU dictated the tempo from the outset, forcing Clemson’s defence to react rather than dictate terms. Lane Kiffin unleashed a relentless run-pass option (RPO) attack that exposed Clemson’s adjustment issues, using its tempo to stretch the defence and isolate the deep-middle and intermediate safeties under sustained pressure.

LSU’s ability to penetrate Clemson’s defensive front pushed safeties Jerome Carter III and Corey Myrick into constant open-field action, with the duo recording 11 and 10 tackles, respectively, to lead the Tigers’ defence. Swinney directly cited poor run defense as the primary catalyst for the blowout.

“You’re not going to win if you can’t stop the run,” Swinney added after the game. “We just did a really poor job of setting the edge, especially versus the quarterback run, which really killed us.”

Since that defeat, Clemson has made significant adjustments on both sides of the ball, with its defence showing considerable improvement. Across its subsequent three games, the Tigers have surrendered just 37 points, averaging 12.3 per outing, while limiting opponents to 95.7 rushing yards per game compared to the 309 conceded against LSU.

With Clemson’s defence showing significant improvement since its Week 1 clash against LSU, defensive coordinator Tom Allen will be looking for another strong showing against Miami. The Tigers now view the matchup as a second opportunity to measure themselves against an elite opponent after struggling against LSU.

“We are a mentally tougher, physically tougher team than we were a year ago. Give credit to Dennis Love and his staff for that,” said Allen.

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