Fall doesn't officially begin until Sept. 22. But Clemson's summer of love is over. After all the adulation and accolades that came from across the nation over the past few months, the No. 4 orange Tigers simply didn't look fit for the moment in a 17-10 defeat to No. 9 LSU.
CLEMSON — Fall doesn’t officially begin until Sept. 22.
But Clemson’s summer of love is over.
After all the adulation and accolades that came from across the nation over the past few months, the No. 4 orange Tigers simply didn’t look fit for the moment in a 17-10 defeat to No. 9 LSU.
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There’s a long season for this 2025 team, and certainly a lot can happen between now and January.
But it’s going to take an awful lot to cleanse the sour taste of seeing yet another SEC team simply look like the better team.
That’s four consecutive losses to the conference where it supposedly just means more.
Clemson fans just want to see more offense.
After a second-half playoff comeback against Texas stoked optimism about this offense taking a step to an elite level and brought Heisman hype for Cade Klubnik, the opening output looked more reminiscent of what everyone saw last year at Death Valley against South Carolina (14 points), and exactly a year ago against Georgia (three points).
Not to mention the opener at Duke two years ago (seven points).
Clemson had 10 points at halftime and was shut out in the second half. The Tigers have lost back-to-back games at Death Valley for the first time since 2008, when they lost to Maryland and Georgia Tech.
The loss to the Terps was on the watch of Tommy Bowden. The defeat to the Yellow Jackets was Dabo Swinney’s first game as interim coach.
It was reasonable to wonder if this team could generate a consistent running game, even amid optimism that came from consistent success on the ground during camp with Adam Randall leading the way.
But save for a grown-man second effort on a fourth down that put Randall into the end zone in the first half, Clemson’s running game was non-existent.
Thirty-one rushing yards just isn’t going to cut it, not even against a defense that loaded the box and brought pressure all night.
Randall had five carries for 16 yards with a long of 7.
David Eziomume had three carries for 5 yards.
Klubnik, hailed as one of the national’s premier dual-threat triggermen, totaled 1 net rushing yard with a long of 7.
And that passing game that looked so electric late in that game in Austin last December?
Nah. Not even close.
Clemson knew LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker was aggressive, knew this game was going to be about winning 1-on-1 matchups on the outside.
But Baker walked off the bus blitzing from all angles, and it seemed to surprise Klubnik and even third-year offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.
And when Klubnik and receivers did have opportunities to make plays, they simply did not make nearly enough of them.
In fairness, playing most of the game without top receiver Antonio Williams makes things harder. He suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and was out the rest of the game.
Pass protection didn’t help Klubnik much, either.
Bryant Wesco had four catches for 66 yards but couldn’t bring down multiple balls, including a deep shot that Klubnik dropped right over his shoulder in the fourth quarter.
TJ Moore had four catches for 55 yards, and Tyler Brown had four catches for 43 yards in relief of Williams.
Klubnik was a bit of a mess in throwing for 230 yards and a third-quarter interception on a 19-of-38 clip.
LSU won its opener for the first time since 2019, the year the Bayou Bengals went on to win it all over Clemson in New Orleans with Joe Burrow and Coach O running the show.
Now Brian Kelly gets to jump on top of a table and celebrate instead of pounding it, as he did a year ago when a loss to Southern Cal gave him his third consecutive opening defeat with LSU.
If you want to say LSU was the better coached team on both sides of the ball you probably wouldn’t be too far off. The Bayou Bengals’ 17-point output didn’t do justice to the way offensive coordinator Joe Sloan creatively mixed run and pass while taking advantage of Garrett Nussmeier’s arm and his receivers’ ability to make guys miss in space.
LSU ran 70 plays to just 58 for Clemson and totaled 246 passing yards to 108 on the ground.
The Bayou Bengals had a time-of-possession advantage of 37:10 to 22:50 and won the game despite losing the turnover battle.
Nussmeier completed 28 of 38 passes (74 percent) and hit nine different receivers. His top target was Aaron Anderson, who had six catches for 99 yards.
Caden Durham rushed for 74 yards on 17 carries, and Zavion Thomas had 26 on three carries.
So much of the buildup coming in was about Kelly calling Clemson’s stadium “Death Valley Junior.”
The fans did more than their part, coming early and packing the place and even staying in their seats at halftime instead of spilling out into the parking lot.
Alcohol sales in the stadium probably helped.
But then Clemson fans probably wanted stronger stuff when they left the stadium later.
Swinney’s Tigers will go to Baton Rouge next year, but they have a lot more to worry about at the moment.
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The summer of Clemson love is over.
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The last win over an SEC team was in the Gator Bowl over Kentucky in 2023.
And that’s not a whole lot to brag about.
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Category: General Sports
