CLEMSON — If there was a bright spot in fourth-ranked Clemson’s 17-10 loss to No. 9 LSU on Saturday it was its defense.

The Tigers held Garrett Nussmeier and the Bayou Bengals high-flying offense to 354 total yards, despite LSU possessing the football for 37 minutes and 10 seconds.

“Defensively, we were tough,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We were tough. We were physical, and outside of that first run, the last 58 minutes they averaged 2.8 (yards) per carry.”

LSU finished the game with 108 yards on the ground and 3.5 yards per carry. It was a much better performance than the last time a Clemson defense was on the field and was gushed by Texas in a first-round loss in the College Football Playoff.

Clemson allowed 160.6 rushing yards per game in 2024 and 4.71 per carry. It is one of the main reasons why Swinney let former defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin go and brought in Tom Allen from Penn State.

LSU’s Caden Durham ran for 24 yards on the first play from scrimmage Saturday night, but after that LSU ran for just 84 yards on its next 30 carries.

“I really thought we did a lot of great things defensively that we can build on,” Swinney said.

The only negative for the defense was costly penalties in critical moments of the game. The two biggest came on LSU’s game-winning drive.

With the game tied at 10, it appeared Clemson got a stop with 1:03 to play in the third quarter. On third-and-11 from the LSU 37, Nussmeier’s throw to Zavion Thomas was off target, as the ball fell to the ground. However, Clemson corner Ashton Hampton was pulling the back of his jersey and was flagged for pass interference.

One play later, on second-and-11 from the Clemson 49, Nussmeier completed a 13-yard pass to Aaron Anderson over the middle. However, Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker, slammed Nussmeier to the ground after the throw and was flagged 15 yards for roughing the passer, moving the football to the Clemson 21.

The two penalties led to Trey’Dez Green’s 8-yard touchdown reception from Nussmeier with 12:18 to play. It turned out to be the game-winning score.

Clemson was penalized six times for 57 yards overall.

“Too many costly penalties,” Swinney said. “We win the turnover margin. We got the lead at the half. It is tied going into the fourth quarter. The third, I don’t know what it was…third-and-11, third-and-12 or whatever, and those are plays that can haunt you.

“We do not get off the field there and they go and get a score. We roughed the quarterback, and they go on and get a score on that drive.”

But the defense buttoned up after that and they did allow LSU to put the game away despite the Bayou Bengals having several opportunities to do so.

“Our defense responded after that,” Swinney said. “They got a couple of big stops and gave it back to the offense with a chance to go tie the ballgame.”

The Clemson defense also got a big stop just before the half, when safety Ronan Hanafin stripped LSU receiver Chris Hilton on a fourth-and-two play from the Clemson 12-yard line with nine seconds to play.

Clemson’s Kylon Griffin recovered the loose ball that preserved his team’s 10-3 lead going into the locker room.

“That is one of those things we drill every single day in practice,” Hanafin said. “Just get the ball out and punch the ball out whenever we can.”

Clemson punched the ball out twice, forcing two turnovers overall. The ACC’s Tigers also had eight tackles for loss and held LSU to 4-for-11 on third down.

Nussmeier, with his bevy of talented receivers and tight ends, threw for just 230 yards on 28 of 38 passes.

“We put our heart and soul into everything to prepare for this game,” linebacker Wade Woodaz said. “We are going to do the same thing next week. We are going to learn from our mistakes and move on.”