This is one some might call a get-right game.

After the struggles Clemson experienced on the offensive side of the ball in the season-opening loss to LSU, this is the weekend to work out some of the kinks.

Troy, who is coming off a season-opening win over FCS foe Nicholls, comes to town as more than a 30-point underdog. While the Trojans have played Clemson tough in both of the previous meetings, this Troy team doesn’t match up quite as well, at least on paper.

Expect a run-heavy attack from the Trojans, while using multiple formations and personnel groupings. It should provide Tom Allen’s defense a nice tune-up before the first road game at Georgia Tech the next weekend.

Where Clemson really needs to get right is on the offensive side of the ball. Cade Klubnik is coming off a lackluster performance in a game in which Garrett Riley totally abandoned the running game. One week in, and fans still have no idea what to expect from Adam Randall and that rushing attack. Freshman Gideon Davidson didn’t even register a carry, while David Eziomume only had three.

That should change this week. Dabo Swinney made it plainly obvious, and on more than one occasion following the loss, that he was not happy with how the offense operated in the loss to LSU. He specifically referenced the Tigers giving up on the run way too early.

Having said all of that, this Clemson team will only go as far as Klubnik takes them. The way he played against LSU just isn’t what was expected out of a senior quarterback whose name was being tossed around as a Heisman favorite. The quarterback we saw last Saturday certainly didn’t resemble the guy we watched slice up the Texas secondary in the second half of the Tigers’ loss to the Longhorns in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.

Riley needs to make sure Klubnik gets off to a quick start, even if we end up getting a heavy dose of the running game. The senior signal caller needs to get his swag back. The fact that this is an inferior opponent makes no difference. You have to start somewhere, right? Get some of those receivers involved early and let them get some swag back, too. But Riley needs to ensure this offense is back on track before heading to Atlanta.

Again, Troy has given the Tigers all they could handle in the past, but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen again. This Clemson team knows what they need to do in this one, and I feel like they will go out and take care of business.

For one week at least, the offense rolls. Clemson wins big, and the coaches are emptying the bench before this one is over.

Clemson 44 Troy 10

Photo by Bart Boatwright