CLEMSON — It’s finally here. It’s game week.
On Saturday at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, the fourth-ranked Tigers will host No. 9 LSU in what will be called the Battle of Death Valley, though it should not be. However, I will not get into that, instead I will focus on the things to watch in this top 10 battle.
Here are some things to watch for in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kick on ABC.
Cade being Cade
LSU had just 34 sacks last year. It was not a defense that consistently got after the quarterback. As a result, LSU ranked 10th in the SEC in passing defense and had just six interceptions all season. However, LSU might have the best set of linebackers in the SEC in Whit and West Weeks, as well as in Harold Perkins.
Jacobian Guillory, Ahmad Breux, and Dominick McKinley are the top cats on the defensive line, but can they consistently get after Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik? That is the question, and if they can do that, then they need to bring him down and make things uncomfortable for him.
Klubnik proved last year, when things broke down, he could improvise outside the pocket and make big plays.
How aggressive will Tom Allen be?
Speaking of getting after the quarterback, Clemson was not its normal self in that department last year, either. Clemson had just 35 sacks last season, far below its average compared to previous seasons.
Dabo Swinney went and got former Penn State defensive coordinator and Indiana head coach Tom Allen to fix that and other things, like stopping the run. In 2024, Allen’s Nittany Lions produced 44 sacks, which ranked second in the Big Ten.
Will Allen use a straight four-man rush and play coverage on the backend of his defense, or will he mix in some exotic zone blitzes and other things to try and confuse and get after LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.
Unlike Klubnik, Nussmeier is not a mobile quarterback and does not like being moved from his spot. This might be the biggest key to the game, especially with LSU starting four new offensive linemen.
Handling the noise
As I mentioned, LSU is starting four new offensive linemen. This can be an advantage for Clemson simply because of the noise. The Death Valley crowd is notorious for causing inexperienced linemen to jump or communication issues that cause delay of game penalties, tackles for loss and turnovers.
Because LSU head coach Brian Kelly continuously poked at Clemson’s Death Valley, calling it “Death Valley, Jr.” or “We will allow Clemson to borrow it,” I am sure the Clemson faithful are going to be as loud as they have ever been when this game kicks off.
Not good on the road
Outside of his performance against South Carolina and Arkansas, Nussmeier did not perform well on the road last season. In fact, his two worst performances came in losses at Texas A&M and at Florida.
Against the Aggies, the LSU quarterback was intercepted three times, sacked four times and completed just 25 of 50 passes.
In the Florida game, Nussmeier was sacked seven times, completed just 27 of 47 passes for 260 yards.
He also played bad in a home loss to Alabama, as he was intercepted twice, was sacked four times, and completed 27 of 42 passes for 239 yards.
What did those three teams do? They put heavy pressure up the middle and knocked him off his spot. Hello Peter Woods. Hello DeMonte Capehart.
