CLEMSON — When Chad Morris became Clemson’s offensive coordinator in 2011, college was a different game.

How different? Back then, offenses could run players in and out without the defense being able to adjust. Guys like Morris and former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn were so good at using tempo to wear down defenses that the NCAA had to change the rules.

Not long after Morris had Clemson’s high-octane offense flying, the NCAA changed its policy of allowing defenses to substitute before the offense could snap the ball. If the offense was going to substitute, the defense was allowed to do so in response.

Clemson, of course, adjusted, but it was obvious the pace of the game was slowed down. For instance, the last time Clemson played LSU with Morris as offensive coordinator, the ACC’s Tigers ran over 100 plays and had LSU’s defensive players literally puking on the sidelines. That, of course, was in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl. That game was one of the reasons why the rule was changed.

So, how has Morris adjusted in his new role since leaving Clemson 12 years ago? Will Clemson’s offense be fast-tempo like it was during his first stint at Clemson?

“You’ll have to watch in a few days here at 7:30,” Morris said with a chuckle earlier this week. “I can’t allude to everything there.”

Though Morris can’t allude to how his Tigers will attack 11th-ranked LSU on Saturday (7:30 p.m./ABC), I can.

One way you can see Clemson get around the rules and keep defenses guessing is by using the muddle huddle, which we know the Tigers worked on in the spring, as Morris used it in the spring game.

The muddle huddle, in case you did not know, is used by the offense, especially in loud venues — something the Tigers will experience at Tiger Stadium — so it can communicate with its offensive players. For instance, unlike the traditional football huddle, a muddle huddle is the players standing with their backs facing the defense a couple of yards off the ball. The quarterback will wait for the defense to make substitutions, then quickly make a call and the offense will run to the line of scrimmage and snap the ball, not allowing the defense to adjust to the formation.

As for using tempo, if you watched last week’s NC State at Virginia game, you would have noticed how former Clemson coach Tony Elliott got around the tempo rule.

How did he do it?

Simple. He did not substitute. Defenses can not make substitutions if offenses are not substituting. Earlier in camp, both Collin Sadler and Harris Sewell, who are expected to start along the offensive line Saturday night, said they had to get into “tempo shape” when camp started. They were not ready for the pace that Morris demands from his offense.

How did they fix this? They run after every practice on their own. As Sadler told TCI, they thought they were in football shape by running the hills at the dikes; they found out when working with coach Morris that they were not in “tempo shape” at all.

So, will Clemson be using tempo at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night?

“But yeah, yeah, it is, yes,” Morris responded. “We will play with tempo.”