CLEMSON — Following No. 4 Clemson’s 17-10 loss to ninth-ranked LSU Saturday night, Dabo Swinney said the Tigers gave up on the running game too early.

He was right, they did.

In fact, the Tigers did not run the football at all in the fourth quarter, instead offensive coordinator Garrett Riley called 18 pass plays in the final stanza. Clemson ran just four rushing plays in the second half, the last coming on a 2-yard loss by quarterback Cade Klubnik with 3:51 left in the third quarter.

“I think we got away from (the run) a little early,” Swinney said. “Again, I think some of that is the possession and all that and you start pressing a little bit.”

LSU did dominate the time of possession, as they kept the football for 20 minutes and 33 seconds. However, Clemson abandoned the run altogether, despite the game being tied until the 12:18 mark of the fourth quarter.

“They primarily played a six-man box, which is always tough with five offensive linemen,” Klubnik said. “Doing that is really hard. Their backers played really well, and you give credit to them. Their front did a good job gashing some gaps at times.”

Clemson finished the night with 31 yards on 20 carries. It ran the ball for just three yards on four carries in the second half.

The Tigers’ 31 rushing yards is the program’s fewest total at home since a loss to Virginia Tech back in 2007.

And as for giving up on the running game too early. Adam Randall—who converted from wide receiver in the off-season—carried the ball only once in the last 30 minutes of the game. That came on Clemson’s first offensive play to start the second half.

Randall led the Tigers with 16 yards on five carries. No other running back got a carry in the second half.

“I thought we got away from the run too early,” Swinney said. “We did not run the ball effectively at all. That is something we will have to improve on.”

Clemson will get that chance next Saturday when it hosts Troy at 3:30 p.m.