Coming into the season opener, Clemson was ranked fourth in the AP Poll and one of the media darlings of the offseason. Multiple national analysts even picked the Tigers to win the national title.

Clemson was showered with praise throughout the preseason, and there was no shortage of hype surrounding the Tigers or love for Dabo Swinney’s team. But Swinney says only one narrative stood up in the 17-10 loss to LSU last Saturday – that first-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen would make a major impact on the Clemson D and help the unit drastically improve from a season ago.

“Tom Allen was a difference maker for us,” Swinney said during his weekly Tuesday press conference.

“A lot of narratives in the offseason – the only one that held up was Tom Allen, and that D-line, and them linebackers. The rest of them, none of them held up.”

Allen’s unit held quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and the Bayou Bengals’ high-flying offense to 354 total yards, despite LSU possessing the football for 37 minutes and 10 seconds. Nussmeier, with his bevy of talented receivers and tight ends, threw for just 230 yards and one touchdown.

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 gashed by Texas in a first-round loss in the College Football Playoff.

Last season, Clemson allowed 160.6 rushing yards per game and 4.7 per carry. It is one of the main reasons why Swinney let former defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin go and brought in Allen from Penn State.

Against LSU, Clemson also forced two turnovers, tallied eight tackles for loss and held LSU to 4-for-11 on third down. In the second half, Clemson’s defense continued to keep the team in the game, giving the offense the ball back on multiple occasions, still down by just seven.

As for the other, non-Allen-related narratives this offseason – for example, that star Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik would be a 2025 Heisman Trophy favorite and potentially the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft?

“Your Heisman quarterback and all that, first pick in the draft, all that crap – you don’t show up and play like that,” Swinney said. “So the only narrative that held up was Tom Allen, and that D-line, and them linebackers.

“That’s the only narrative that held up. That’s it. The rest of them, everybody can just start throwing mud now.”

For those that are piling on Clemson and hating on the Tigers after the season-opening loss, Swinney is perfectly fine with it. In fact, he welcomes it.

“Bring it on. Say we suck again,” Swinney said. “Tell everybody we suck. ‘Coaches suck, Cade stinks’ – y’all start writing that again. Bring it on.”