College football is finally back.
While there were a small number of games last weekend to wet the palate of fans across the country, the full slate kicks off this weekend, including Clemson’s big road game at No. 11 LSU.
Not many are giving Dabo Swinney’s Tigers much of a chance in Baton Rouge against Lane Kiffin and his rumored to be $50 million roster, but that is why they play the games.
Clemson comes in having lost three consecutive season-opening contests, and four of the past five. Now the Tigers get a chance at avenging the most recent loss in an opener after LSU took down Clemson 17-10 to kick off the 2025 campaign.
5 Things to Watch
1. Contain Sam Leavitt: When Leavitt is at his best, he is one of the more dangerous quarterbacks in the country. Go back and watch the kind of damage he did in the 2024 playoff while at Arizona State. That absolutely can not happen on Saturday, or Clemson is likely in for a long night.
Somehow, some way, Tom Allen’s defense has to find a way to keep Leavitt contained in the pocket. That means the ends have to set the edge and the tackles have to be gap sound. If Leavitt is allowed to break contain and continuously get into the second level of the Clemson defense, he’s more than likely going to break one or two long ones.
Slowing down this LSU offense starts with not allowing the Bayou Bengals to run at will, and that begins with not allowing Leavitt to have a big night running the ball.
2. Slow That Pass Rush: This is going to be a big test of Clemson’s new-look offensive line. Princewill Umanmielen is one of the best edge rushers in the nation. He was dominant at Ole Miss last season, where he ranked No. 3 in the SEC in sacks (9.0) and No. 8 in tackles for loss (13.0), earning third-team All-SEC honors. Former five-star Jordan Ross, Dylan Carpenter, and Lamar Brown will also factor in, meaning the Tigers’ tackles are going to have their hands full. Whether or not late addition from Notre Dame, Junior Tuihalamaka, gets on the field remains to be seen.
Either way, with Chris Vizzina making just his second career start, the five guys up front will need to keep him upright. Vizzina will need time to get the ball out. If LSU controls the line of scrimmage and is constantly in his face, an already loud crowd will become even more raucous.
3. Establish Some Type of Ground Game: Clemson managed just 31 rushing yards in this game last season, and boy was that a sign of things to come. The lack of dedication to the running game is part of the reason Chad Morris was brought back. Having said that, Morris was also known to abandon the run, at times, during his first stint in Orange.
Whether it is running between the tackles, attacking the perimeter, using the screen game, or executing some jet sweeps, this offense just can not be one-dimensional. And getting the ground game established includes making LSU respect the quarterback run. Whether that is Vizzina or freshman Tait Reynolds, Clemson’s quarterback has to be a factor with his legs.
Sophomore Gideon Davidson has been waiting for this moment since he arrived at Clemson. Now that he’s gotten a season of experience under his belt, he appears ready to take on the role as featured back. Chris Johnson also has to be involved, whether that means handing him the ball or getting it to him in the passing game. His kind of speed can’t be taught.
With Brayden Jacobs and Elyjah Thurmon leading the way on the left side of that offensive line, maybe Morris can scheme something up to have some success on that side of the field.
4. Limit Mistakes: Openers tend to be a little sloppy, and the team that makes the fewest mistakes might just be the one that comes out on top. Both squads feature a lot of new faces, but LSU has more than 60 new players on the roster, with more than 40 being brought in from the portal. It will be interesting to see if that team is already fully gelled in week one or if it is going to take a game or two to really get going.
Minimizing the turnovers and creating one or two is another path to success. Protecting the football will be key. The new-look secondary creating some havoc on the backend would also be extremely beneficial.
Limiting mistakes also means not having a bunch of pre-snap penalties. Those are quick ways to get and stay behind the chains against a defense that has the potential to be one of the better ones in the SEC.
5. NFL Rookies: Last but certainly not least, we have Kiffin trying to roster players who have spent some time on NFL squads this summer. Whether any of those actually play on Saturday is anyone’s guess, as there is another hearing on Thursday that will impact how this plays out.
Throughout the lead-up to this game, much of the attention has been on this very subject. The actual game that is set to be played has gotten far less attention. Could this end up being a distraction that ultimately blows up in LSU’s face?
