It’s finally week one of the college football season! Clemson has one of its toughest battles of the year to get started. The Tigers will welcome LSU into town in what will be one of the biggest games of a stacked week one.
Both teams are ranked top 10 in the country entering this game, so coming out with the win won’t be easy. There are ways Clemson can give itself the best chance to win though. Much of it will be on the two key pieces of Dabo Swinney’s 2025 squad.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik and the defensive line must be the ones to set the tone for the season. In order to do that, they must have great performances in week one. This matchup with LSU will come down to which Heisman contending quarterback is able to put their team in the best positions to win.
This means Klubnik has to be prepared to play the best week one game of his career. The best way to make that happen is for the dual-threat quarterback to use his legs.
Whether that is not being afraid to make a quick decision to tuck and run the ball on a scramble or offensive coordinator Garrett Riley calling designed quarterback runs. Reminding the LSU defense that it must fear Klubnik’s running ability will keep the second level honest. That will eventually open up the passing game against a talented defensive back group.
Once Klubnik breaks down the defense with his running ability, it's all about spreading the ball around to all of his talented receivers. Get the ball to Antonio Williams and TJ Moore early on with quick passes and screens in space. Then be ready to find the deep threats in Bryant Wesco Jr, Tristian Smith, and Tyler Brown when they are open.
On the other side of the ball, the defensive line has to get pressure on Garrett Nussmeier.
LSU is replacing four out five starters on its offensive line. Expect defensive coordinator Tom Allen to attempt to take advantage of that lack of experience and really unleash the defensive front.
We should see a heavy dose of pressures on passing downs using stunts and some disguised blitzes. Anything that can create confusion for an offensive line still trying to figure things out.
Allen will likely also try to disguise coverages with different looks in how the secondary aligns itself because it's something he likes to do. A veteran like Nussmeier has seen enough to likely not get too rattled by that.
Speeding up Nussmeier’s clock though because his offensive line is struggling to protect him will cause him to make mistakes. Eventually that will lead to forced turnovers which is something Allen expects his defense to do.
In week one the strategies are simple. The ability to make in game adjustments is important since there is little to tell what your opponent will truly give you going in. The goal of the first game for coaches is to get their team ready to play as fast as possible. This game will serve as a great test to how ready Clemson is right now to face playoff caliber teams.