National pundits continue to pile on after Clemson’s poor showing in a 51-10 season-opening loss at LSU last weekend.
With Dabo Swinney’s team being totally annihilated in Baton Rouge, Clemson obviously dropped out of the Coaches Poll, but even worse, the Tigers made ESPN’s dreaded Bottom 10 list, coming in at No. 5.
Here’s what ESPN’s Ryan McGee wrote about Clemson.
“The bad news? The Fightin’ Dabos earned the Coveted Fifth Spot when they were embarrassed by Lane Kiffin’s NFL player-less LSU team 51-10. The good news? OK, yeah, I got nothing.”
Here is a look at the full Bottom 10:
- Rutgers
- Charlotte
- Northern Illinois
- Kent State
- Clemson
- Missouri State
- Louisiana-Monroe
- UTEP
- Sacramento State
- UMass
Look at that list and the company Clemson is keeping. The only other Power-4 team is Rutgers, which lost to UMass, which also happens to be on the list.
With the loss to LSU, Clemson has now lost four straight games to open a season and five of the past six. The only win in that stretch? A 41-10 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlanta to start the 2022 campaign.
Looking at some of the numbers from what transpired in Baton Rouge, it is hard to argue against the Tigers belonging on this list.
- Total Yards: LSU 644, Clemson 145
- First Downs: LSU 38 (program record), Clemson 8
- Passing Yards: LSU 335, Clemson 105
- Rush Yards: LSU 309, Clemson 40 (all coming on final possession)
- 3rd Down: LSU 11-of-16, Clemson 1-of-13
- Total Plays: LSU 94, Clemson 48
- Avg YDS Per Play: LSU 6.9, Clemson 3.0
- Avg YDS Per Completion: LSU 15.2, Clemson 7.5
- Avg YDS per Rush: LSU 5.3, Clemson 1.5
- Time of Possession: LSU 36:09, Clemson 23:51
- Sacks: LSU 4, Clemson 0
- Tackles for Loss: LSU 11, Clemson 2
Clemson will look to rebound from the blowout loss on Saturday when the Tigers welcome Georgia Southern to Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the ACC Network will have the telecast.