CLEMSON – It did not take long for the fourth-ranked Clemson Tigers to reap the benefits of a 81,500-person, orange-colored wall of sound at Memorial Stadium Saturday night.

A week ahead of Clemson’s season-opener against the “other” Tigers, head coach Dabo Swinney had two requests for Clemson fans: be loud and wear orange. In the first half against LSU, Clemson fans quickly lived up to the charge and stayed that way the whole game in a 17-10 loss to No. 9 LSU.

As the Tigers lined up to kickoff, the noise in the stadium was deafening. Chants of “C-L-E-M-S-O-N!,” “Go Tigers,” accompanied by rogue yelling and boos, seemed to hang in the air as the Tigers ran down the hill onto Frank Howard Field.

“I want to thank our fans,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said after the game. “What an awesome, awesome environment. It was special.”

The noise only intensified after kickoff, as a volcanic cheer erupted when defensive end Jaheim Lawson and defensive tackle Peter Woods combined for a tackle for loss on LSU’s first drive. Clemson finished the game with eight tackles for loss.

Three minutes later, the crowd helped to force a holding penalty on Clemson’s first punt that pinned the purple and gold Tigers deep in their own territory. Clemson’s defense, in alliance with the crowd, forced two more first-quarter penalties on LSU.

Ultimately, the penalties helped Clemson keep a 10-3 lead into halftime, despite a late second-quarter LSU drive.

With four minutes to go in the half LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier marched his team into Clemson territory with respective 14-yard, ten yard, and 16-yard passes over three minutes.

The LSU Tigers halted on Clemson’s 12-yard line with a 4th-and-2 opportunity. 

As both sets of Tigers lined up for the play, Clemson’s Jumbotron blasted a simple message in orange and purple font. It read, simply, “Make some noise.” Obediently, Clemson fans blasted LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and his offense with boos and jeers.

The play ended in a forced fumble by Clemson’s Ronan Hanafin that ensured the halftime lead.

“I am certainly disappointed that we did not get it done for them, but man, the crowd was awesome. The environment was awesome,” Swinney said.

Though Clemson struggled to move the ball in the second half, Memorial Stadium’s attendees never left, and never stopped making their presence known. The Tigers’ team and fans forced holding and false start penalties in the third quarter, that gave Clemson’s offense a chance to capitalize.

The problem Saturday night did not lie with Clemson fans.