Clemson Football: Five keys to victory against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers

Clemson Football has never lost to an FCS opponent since the division was created. Despite the struggles of the Tigers against the Duke Blue Devils, it is hard to believe the program could possibly lose to Charleston Southern.

Victory against the Buccaneers includes more than the scoreboard. This game is important to the Tigers’ fortunes for the rest of 2023.

Here are five things Clemson needs to do to be successful against Charleston Southern.

The offense needs to eliminate the mistakes

It is unrealistic to expect perfection, even against an FCS opponent.

That being said, the biggest thing the Clemson offense needs to take out of this game is confidence that they can be efficient and reliable.

They drove the ball against the Blue Devils. They only had one penalty all evening. They did several things well enough to win. They just did enough bad things to lose.

The top priority is turnovers. The Tigers should set a goal of absolutely no turnovers whatsoever. No interceptions. No fumbles. No turnovers on downs. They shouldn’t beat themselves up if an accident happens, but zero turnovers should be the goal.

The next priority is better decision-making, especially by Cade Klubnik. He needs to make sure he knows where the first down line is always. He needs to be decisive on option reads.

This offense needs to prove to themselves that they are better than what they showed in Durham.