Tag: Clemson

Clemson Tigers Struggling

By: Burns Bateman

The Clemson Tigers are facing a rough stretch this season, and several factors make this losing run particularly striking. After years of dominance, the Tigers’ offense has noticeably declined: they’ve shifted from elite quarterback play and strong offensive line protection to a unit marked by inconsistency, particularly in the passing game and receiver development. Meanwhile, the defense once a consistent strength has suffered lapses in execution, discipline and energy, with multiple observers noting a startling loss of hunger and edge. Turnovers have emerged as another worrisome trend; the Tigers are among the worst in their conference in lost fumbles and turnover margin, which has translated into opponents gaining hundreds of points off mistakes.  Add in coaching and schematic issues analysts describe the offense as at times obsolete the line as overmatched, and the system as improperly aligned with the players at hand. Perhaps most damaging is the mismatch between expectations and reality: this program entered the season as a national title contender, predators of top talent and storied success, yet they now find themselves staring at their worst start in decades, forced to “reset goals” rather than chase championships.  Ultimately, Clemson’s current losing season isn’t the result of one isolated problem it’s the cumulative effect of fading culture, systemic breakdowns on both offense and defense, and uncharacteristic mistakes that have turned once-routine wins into questionable performances. The talent remains, but the cohesion, urgency and execution do not—and until those intangible elements are restored, the Tigers are going to struggle to reclaim their elite status.

Clemson vs LSU Postgame Breakdown

By: Griffin Jones

On Saturday August 30th, 2025 the number 8 ranked LSU Tigers traveled to Memorial Stadium to take on the number 4 ranked Clemson Tigers in a highly anticipated matchup. There was an unbelievable amount of hype coming into this game as this was the first time the 2 teams faced off since January 13th, 2019 where LSU topped Clemson 42-25 in the National Championship. While the two teams have played formerly, LSU leading 4-1, this was the first game inside of either team’s stadium which are both labeled as “Death Valley”. The high rankings along with the possible revenge lead fans to call this game the battle to be the “Real Death Valley”. 

Coming into the game the spread was Clemson favored by -4.5 as they returned 81% of their offensive talent and 75% of their defensive talent, this combined with a great offseason and a home field advantage led many to believe this was Clemson’s game to win. LSU however returned 65% of offensive production and 59% of defensive production losing much of their offensive line and receiving core. However, using the transfer portal LSU was able to instantly replace their positions of need with equal or similar talent.

Despite both teams returning diverse numbers of talent, they each came into the season labeled to have a top five skilled rosters in the country. All of this skill along with a Heisman hopeful quarterback on each team excited some to the point where they were saying this would be the “Game of the Year”. 

Entering the game LSU players were greeted by 80,000+ Clemson fans who were starving for a big win. A 7:30 kickoff time only fed into the excitement of the roaring fans. Clemson won the coin toss and decided to defer and the game was under way.

The first play from scrimmage LSU’s star sophomore running back Caden Durham shook off a tackle and ran for a gain of  24 yards leaving them just shy of Clemson territory. The Tigers gained 1 more first down getting to the Clemson 40 but after that stalled, leaving out at a 3 & 11. As this was the biggest play of the game at this point the fans were deafening during a huge third down on the first drive. This caused Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to call a timeout due to the screams. The rest of the first half was filled with many unsuccessful with LSU’s offense looking superior throughout. Despite this, Clemson’s lead in the turnover battle along with a strong drive in the second quarter helped them head into the half with a 10-3 lead over LSU.

However, this lead would be short lived as LSU’s dominance of time of possession, Clemson’s inability to establish the run game, and an interception thrown in the second half turned things LSU’s way. As they tied the game 10-10 with a Caden Durham touchdown and took the lead with a 1on1 endzone ball to 6 ‘7 receiver Trey’dez Green. Once LSU claimed the lead they never let it go, despite Clemson’s best effort on their final drive they came up just short of forcing overtime. As Klubnik was pressured into a poor throw on 4th down from LSU’s 15 with just under a minute left. 

I believe that these are two playoff teams who have a lot of potential this year if they reach their full ability. Although Clemson lost, I think Troy will help them get some confidence and hopefully bounce back in the future and figure things out in what seems like a strong ACC this year.

Why Clemson lost to LSU

By: Ben McLaurin

To begin, Clemson was favored going into the game, but for some reason Clemson decides to the game. We were not expecting our star receiver to get hurt on the 2nd drive of the game. LSU does not breed star players, they get them in the portal like Mansoor Delane was a locksmith all night for LSU as a Virginia Tech transfer. Antiono Williams fell with a hamstring injury and he was expected to be Cade’s number one target all night. Clemson’s corner Ashton Hampton played a disappointing game with 3 Pass Interferences, but one was a horrendous call around the fifty-yard line which not only led to a first down on 3rd and 11 but led to a touchdown that put them ahead 17-10. Clemson’s 2nd half and run game was pathetic with 31 total rush yards all night with constant costly penalties that led to drive killers for the Tigers and extenders for LSU. Clemson  had a hot start to the 2nd half with a drive until Hauser missed an important kick to extend the lead which fell wide right. The Clemson o-line was experienced and failed to execute unlike LSU’s young o-line that had an effective run game with well over 100 yards.  Tj Parker and Demonta Capehart, two projected first round picks, put up 2 total tackles made by Tj Parker which led to 1st year starters like Ronan Hanfan to step up with 12 tackles followed by Sammyn Brown’s 11. In all, Clemson did play a poor game and the ref’s were no help for Clemson. Even without the bad calls, Clemson just played a bad game and were not prepared especially on Garrett Riley’s part with a sorry game plan. Especially in the beginning, instead of getting Cade easy completions he tried to have him read deep concepts against a star studded secondary.

NCAA Top 5 Week 1

By: Burns Bateman

To start off with, I will be ranking my top five for the 2025 NCAA college football season. Starting at number one, I have Texas. All eyes for Texas are on Arch Manning. I feel like he will have a breakout season with having a top receiver core in the country. Also having the star running backs like CJ Baxter and Quintrevion Wisner. On the defensive side, they have the top returning defensive unit in the nation. Their defense allowed the third fewest points and yards per game in division one. Coming in second is the Ohio State. With first year quarterback Julian Sayin leading the team, they will have some struggles but he will work it out to lead his team to a top spot in the season. With top receivers like Jerimiah Smith and Quincy Porter, it is going to be hard for other teams to keep up with the Buckeye offense. Number three is the Clemson Tigers. Top defense in the country with players like Sammy Brown, Ashton Hampton, Peter Woods, and TJ Parker. With a defense as strong as Clemson’s, opposing quarterbacks are going to scrambling for their life. They tiger offense is also top tier. Cade Klubnik is going to have a heisman run this year. With Adam Randall running the ball there will be some major rushing yards put up on the board this year. Coming in at number four is Georgia. Kirby Smart always has a strong team and you can never go wrong with putting Georgia in the top five. Gunner Stockton will be a demon on the field this year and with the strong defense backing them up.

Another championship run incoming for the Georgia football team. Lastly, at number five is Notre Dame. Jeremiyah Love is going to be the reason this team stays in the top five all year. The Irish always have a standout defense. That will be the top five for the first week of college football.

Dabo Swinney- Good or Bad coach

By: Braelen Lewis

There has been a recent debate over if coach Dabo Swinney is a good coach or not and that the only reason he has won any national championships is because of the great quarterbacks and weapons that he had. I think however that although he did have awesome players on his team, they also won all those games due to his incredible coaching skills. Another reason why people think he is a bad coach is because they think he is an old head and can’t adapt to the transfer portal, but in my eyes it makes me respect him all the more because if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it. I think that Dabo doesn’t deserve all the hate he gets because he really is just a good guy, he just likes the old ways in highschool recruiting. I also think that the highschool recruiting he does works. I mean the team has been getting some hate recently due to Cade Klubnik not doing so well, but I think that he’s taken all the hate and turned it into a drive to work harder and be a better player and I think that it showed last week in the game against Appalachian state. This year’s defense is the best we’ve seen in recent years, and it also wasn’t his fault when we had Dj because it looked like he was going to be a good pick because of how good he was in high school but he just couldn’t compete at the college level. Also Dj just sucks I mean he is completely destroying Florida State’s football program, and it really proves that when he was at Clemson the losses weren’t coaches fault they were Dj’s because he sucks. In all, I believe that coach Dabo is a good football coach and doesn’t deserve any of the hate he gets.

Don’t be a Tyler. 

by Jones DesChamps

For all who are unaware, there are some college football coaches around the country who answer phone calls from callers on various different radio stations. Dabo Swinney, the head ball coach for the Clemson Tigers, is one of those coaches. On Monday night, Coach Swinney hopped onto Clemson’s flagship radio station, “105.5 the Roar”, to answer any questions sent in by callers. After answering the light-hearted questions of many questions, Dabo received a unique call from an angry caller. 

This mysterious man was named Tyler, who states that he is from Spartanburg, SC. To say the least, he did not filter his concerns to his “favorite” team’s coach. During his four minute rant on the phone to Coach Swinney, Tyler asked many controversial questions and raised many eyebrows when talking over the coaching decisions that Mr. Swinney has made. During his harangue, he brought up the inappropriate subjects of why Coach Swinney was being paid 11.5 million dollars to have a 4-4 record, why he was too stubborn to change his coaching philosophy, and why his school’s relevancy has fallen off so drastically. This bandwagon fan claims to have followed the Tigers for years and wonders why Dabo has run his own team into the mud over the last 3 or 4 years. 

Dabo, who is a proven winner and joyful leader, responded in a way that is unusual for this mild-tempered coach. Mr. Swinney responded to Tyler in a firm tone throughout his extended answer. During his response, Coach Swinney pointed out the fact that his teams have achieved 12 straight 10 win seasons which only 3 other teams have surpassed in the last century and a half. Also, he pointed out that he built his program up from ground zero and led them to 2 national championships in the last 7 years, which Clemson had not done in the history of its existence. He wrapped his speech up by stating that he loves his university, but he hates the fact that the “expectations are above the appreciation” for what he has done for his school. This response not only silenced the caller but caused him to hang up the phone. By defending his own and his players, Dabo Swinney has caused much uproar among major news companies and social media pages. 

This begs the question: Were Coach Swinney’s remarks appropriate and correct? The simple answer is yes. As any good coach would do, he jumped to the defense of his personal strategy and his players. Would Kirby Smart, Nick Saban, or Deion Sanders respond the same way? Yes, so why is Dabo receiving so much criticism for his remarks? 

Can Clemson squeak out a home win against Florida State this week? 

by Jones DesChamps

Simply put, yes. Clemson has won the last 7 against the Seminoles, and the Tigers could keep that streak alive. Although Florida State certainly has a high powered offense and a keen special teams unit, their defense is subpar. The media has shined light on Jordan Travis, Keon Coleman, and Johnny Wilson, but no one will discuss the defensive problems with the road team this week. 

This fraudulent defense ranks at 81st in opposing yards per game and 84th in opposing yards per play. Yes, the Clemson offense is up in the air, but it doesn’t take a phenomenal offense to dice up that type of defense. However they seem sloppy, this young Tiger offense ranks inside of the top 30 in yards per rush and the same in 3rd down conversions. Clemson not only has a chance this week, but may be able to overwhelm this FSU defense. 

This is not the only reason, though. Clemson is hosting Florida State in Death Valley to which they haven’t lost to FSU at home since 2013. That, of course, was led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston. Clemson still holds 11 straight 10 plus win seasons and seemingly never loses at home, losing less than 5 home games since 2015. With their backs against the wall, I believe the Tigers have a fighting chance to take down the Seminoles this week in dramatic fashion to enter their name back into the playoff hunt.