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The Clemson football team fell to LSU in its season opener, 17-10. The Tigers struggled mightily on the offensive side of the football.
Clemson was outscored 14-0 after the halftime break. They gained just 13 first downs on the day and were held to 31 yards rushing.
The run game was bad. The passing attack wasn’t much better. While starting signal caller Cade Klubnik did total 230 yards through the air, it came on 50% passing.
He was held out of the endzone and was picked off once by the LSU secondary.
Clemson football had no answers for LSU’s defense.
The Tigers averaged just 1.55 yards per carry. They had less than 300 yards of total offense and were held scoreless over the final 34+ minutes of play.
Clemson couldn’t run. They couldn’t throw. They couldn’t block.
It resulted in a low-scoring defeat. Dabo Swinney spoke on the loss after the fact. He was critical of his senior quarterback’s play.
“He just didn’t play well. I can’t sugarcoat it,” the coach said.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on QB Cade Klubnik: “He just didn’t play well. I can’t sugarcoat it.” Says there were a number of times Klubnik missed his hot routes, scrambled when he didn’t need to. “Sometimes that happens when you haven’t played live ball in a while. He’ll be OK”
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) August 31, 2025
Klubnik is a veteran. He’s a projected top NFL Draft pick and Heisman contender. There was expectation of success amongst the fanbase and staff. He failed to lead the offense successfully in his 2025 debut.
Despite the struggles, Swinney stuck with the passer. He did not punish Klubnik for bad reads or missed assignments. The same cannot be said for everyone on the Clemson football roster.
Gideon Davidson was made an example.
The four-star prospect signed with the Tigers last December. He was expected to make an immediate contribution in a thin Clemson running back room.
It didn’t happen in Game 1. A missed protection was the reason.
Context on Clemson true freshman RB Gideon Davidson not getting any carries vs. LSU: Dabo Swinney says on Davidson’s first snap of the game he made a mistake in pass protection, “so he didn’t get as much opportunity from there.” But he’s high on the RB room going forward
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) August 31, 2025
Davidson made a mistake in pass protection on his first snap. He played just one more snap the rest of the ballgame.
Given the Tigers’ struggles in the run game, that doesn’t seem to make much sense. The team’s leading rusher was converted wide receiver Adam Randall, who finished the contest with 16 yards.
Davidson did not get a carry. Who knows if he could’ve been a difference maker. Dabo Swinney didn’t give him the opportunity.
His outlook with Klubnik differed vastly from that of Davidson. The reasoning behind that likely has to do with experience, confidence, and proven success.
Still, it created some poor optics to the outside viewer. One player was given the opportunity to overcome his failures time and again. The other was punished for one mistake with a permanent benching.
Davidson will hope to get back in his coach’s good graces for Game 2 when the Tigers take on Troy.