Last year was last year, and this is now. While the Clemson Tigers are eager to put last fall behind them, so too are the LSU Tigers. Despite having fired their head coach midseason, LSU was good enough in the eyes of the Associated Press to be ranked No. 11 coming into this year. Clemson was the first team among the others receiving votes. It has played a part in them being an underdog here.
FanDuel Sportsbook has LSU laying 10.5 points to visiting Clemson less than two weeks out. While that might be a lot of points for an unproven LSU team to cover, Clemson has its own set of issues to deal with. Whether it is ushering in a new quarterback, having little depth along the defensive line, or needing to snap out of the disaster that was last year, this Clemson team has to find itself in a hurry.
If Clemson wants to upset LSU in Week 1, Dabo Swinney's team has to be carried by these star players.
Sammy Brown has to set the tone for Clemson's defense moving forward
Right off the bat, it is imperative for Clemson's best player at linebacker, Sammy Brown, to be the tone-setter for this defense. He is a serious All-American contender and is arguably the Tigers' best shot at getting a player taken in the NFL draft's first round next spring. While Clemson has had great linebackers previously, few have been as instinctive, as athletic, or as promising as Brown coming in.
With Whit Weeks starring in the middle of everything defensively for LSU, now is the perfect time for Brown to be all he can be in a Clemson uniform. He averaged over eight tackles a game last season as a sophomore. If that is closer to 10 or 12 in this one, that might be enough for him to tip the scales in Clemson's favor. If he can get a sack of Sam Leavitt, or even a pick off him, that would be even better.
It is virtually impossible for Clemson to pull off the upset if Brown doesn't take his game up a notch.
Gideon Davidson needs to keep the chains moving out of the backfield
So much has been made about Clemson's starting quarterback battle between Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds. While Swinney will surely make the right decision to lead this year's team out of the tunnel, whoever ends up winning the starting job needs to be comfortable with handing the football off a ton to Gideon Davidson. This major breakout candidate could be the missing piece offensively.
Chad Morris has so many weapons at his disposal, but few offer the explosiveness that Davidson has out of the backfield. Yes, it would be wonderful for him to break off a huge run past LSU's befuddled defense. What may be more important is to keep the ball in the offense's hands to dominate the time of possession. LSU cannot score points if it does not have the ball. Davidson better be ready for this.
Clemson has plenty of running backs, but Davidson needs to be the focal point of the ground game.
Ashton Hampton must fully take over in Clemson's defensive backfield
As one of the biggest winners of fall camp, Ashton Hampton needs to be the driving force for excellence in the defensive backfield for Clemson. Last year was not a banner year for the Tigers' secondary. Frankly, it was a bad year for the entire team. However, Hampton is the other star player on this Clemson defense beyond that of linebacker Sammy Brown. He also has real first-round potential.
For Clemson to hand LSU its first loss of the season in Week 1, Hampton has to show he can be more than merely a cover cornerback. AJ Terrell may have made millions in the NFL doing just that, but the occasional interception or forced fumble will go a long way with this team. Hampton only has three career turnovers in 27 games played at Clemson. Sept. 5 would be a fantastic time for this fourth one.
The harder Hampton can make Leavitt's day at quarterback, the better off Clemson will be versus LSU.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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