Clemson will arrive in Baton Rouge on September 5 with plenty of talent, but also with more uncertainty than LSU faced in last year’s opener. The Tigers are coming off a 7 and 6 season and are replacing major experience at quarterback, across the offensive line, at running back and along the defensive interior. Clemson also changed offensive coordinators, bringing Chad Morris back to the program after Garrett Riley departed following the 2025 season.

That does not make Clemson an easy opponent. Dabo Swinney still has dangerous players on both sides of the ball, and Clemson has enough talent to become a very good team as the season progresses. The question for LSU is whether Clemson will have solved all of its problems by opening night. Based on the roster turnover and what has emerged during fall camp, several areas stand out as obvious targets.

Start With Christopher Vizzina

Clemson no longer has Cade Klubnik running the offense. The responsibility now falls primarily on Christopher Vizzina, who entered fall camp as the leader at quarterback but continues to face competition from talented freshman Tait Reynolds.

Vizzina is not completely inexperienced. He has appeared in 14 games and enters 2026 having completed 64 of 105 passes for 596 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He has also rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown.

The important number is one.

Vizzina has made only one college start.

That came against SMU in 2025, when he completed 29 of 42 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. It was an impressive performance and proof that LSU should not treat him like an ordinary inexperienced quarterback.

Still, making one start and opening a season in Tiger Stadium are very different challenges. Blake Baker should make Vizzina process as much information as possible by changing coverages, moving defenders before the snap and bringing pressure from different levels.

LSU does not need Vizzina to play poorly all season. It needs to make him uncomfortable for one night.

Clemson Is Rebuilding Its Offensive Line

This may be the most important matchup of the game.

Clemson lost an enormous amount of offensive line experience following 2025. Blake Miller, Tristan Leigh, Ryan Linthicum and Walker Parks are gone after combining for more than 11,000 career offensive snaps and 161 starts.

Miller was particularly significant. The longtime Clemson right tackle became a first round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft.

There is still experience on the roster. Harris Sewell entered 2026 with 1,650 career offensive snaps and 17 starts, while Collin Sadler had accumulated 1,291 snaps and 15 starts. The problem is that Clemson must build a cohesive five man unit around its returning pieces.

Other candidates have far less experience. Elyjah Thurmon entered the season with only 275 career offensive snaps and two starts. Clemson also has talented young linemen who could eventually become excellent players, but development and experience are two different things.

This is where LSU’s defensive front has an opportunity.

Princewill Umanmielen gives LSU an experienced edge defender, while Jordan Ross adds another athletic option. Dominick McKinley provides talent inside, and freshmen Deuce Geralds and Richard Anderson have pushed themselves into the conversation during LSU’s fall camp.

Baker should test Clemson’s offensive line immediately. Make the new group identify pressure, communicate in a hostile stadium and protect an inexperienced quarterback.

If LSU wins this matchup, everything else becomes easier.

Clemson Must Replace Its Leading Rusher

Clemson also enters the season without Adam Randall, who led the Tigers with 813 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in 2025.

The leading returning rusher is Gideon Davidson, who carried 60 times for 260 yards last season. Davidson is talented and could be poised for a much larger role, but he has not yet demonstrated that he can carry Clemson’s running game over an entire season.

There are other options. Jay Haynes returns after missing the 2025 season because of a knee injury. Chris Johnson Jr. brings additional experience after previous stops at Miami and SMU, while David Eziomume gives Clemson another option.

The room has talent. What it does not have is a proven returning feature back.

That becomes even more important when combined with Clemson’s offensive line turnover. The Tigers are trying to replace their leading rusher while rebuilding the group blocking for him.

LSU should make stopping the run a priority. If Baker can force Clemson into repeated second and long and third and long situations, Vizzina will have to carry more of the offensive burden.

That is exactly where LSU should want the game.

Clemson Is Learning a New Offense

Personnel is not the only thing changing.

Clemson also has a new offensive coordinator.

After Clemson’s offense failed to meet expectations during the 2025 season, Garrett Riley did not return. Swinney brought back Chad Morris, who previously served as Clemson’s offensive coordinator from 2011 through 2014.

Morris was a major part of Clemson’s rise during his first stint. His offenses averaged 468.5 yards and 36.3 points per game during those four seasons, helping establish the aggressive offensive identity that eventually developed into a championship program.

His return could ultimately be a major positive for Clemson.

The issue is timing.

Morris is installing his offense while working with a new starting quarterback, a reconstructed offensive line and a backfield without its leading rusher from last season. Clemson has had an entire offseason to prepare, but September 5 will be the first time all of those pieces have to operate together in a real game.

LSU should force Clemson out of its opening script as quickly as possible. The more Vizzina and Morris have to adjust during the game, the more difficult the environment becomes for Clemson.

Defensive Tackle Is Another Major Rebuild

Clemson’s defense has legitimate star power, but the middle of the defensive line is undergoing significant turnover.

Peter Woods, DeMonte Capehart and Stephiylan Green are gone. Those three accounted for all 24 regular season starts at defensive tackle for Clemson in 2025.

Clemson responded aggressively by adding help, including Kourtney Kelly from West Georgia, Markus Strong from Oklahoma and junior college All American Andy Burburija. The Tigers clearly recognized that the interior needed reinforcement.

Those additions may eventually solve the problem, but LSU gets Clemson immediately.

Lane Kiffin should test the new defensive tackle rotation with Caden Durham, Harlem Berry and Dilin Jones. All three give LSU different ways to attack the defense, and Jones could be especially useful because of his combination of size, physicality and pass protection.

LSU can also use tempo to prevent Clemson from constantly rotating fresh defensive linemen. If the Tigers can establish the run and force Clemson’s interior defenders to play extended possessions, depth becomes increasingly important.

Clemson Has Questions at Safety

Clemson also made significant changes at safety.

The Tigers added experienced transfers Jerome Carter III from Old Dominion and Corey Myrick from Southern Miss. Carter intercepted six passes in 2025, while Myrick recorded 92 tackles and two interceptions.

Those are meaningful additions, and LSU should not treat the position as an obvious weakness simply because Clemson brought in transfers.

The potential vulnerability is continuity.

Clemson is integrating new players into a secondary that must immediately deal with Kiffin’s formations, motion and personnel combinations. Communication becomes especially important when LSU can put players such as Trey’Dez Green in different locations.

Green can line up traditionally at tight end, move into the slot or create mismatches against linebackers and defensive backs. LSU can force Clemson’s new combinations to communicate and make decisions before the snap.

The talent is there. The chemistry still has to be proven.

Clemson Still Has Dangerous Players

LSU cannot confuse areas of uncertainty with a lack of talent.

Bryant Wesco Jr. enters 2026 with 72 career receptions for 1,245 yards and 11 touchdowns. T.J. Moore gives Clemson another dangerous receiving option, giving Vizzina experienced targets as he takes over the offense.

Defensively, Sammy Brown is one of Clemson’s most important returning players. Will Heldt is another proven problem for opposing offenses after recording 15.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 2025.

Clemson also has Swinney, a coach who has won two national championships and understands how to prepare a team for major games.

LSU is not facing a rebuilding program without talent.

It is facing a talented program undergoing significant transition.

That distinction matters.

LSU’s Blueprint Is Clear

The biggest Clemson weaknesses are connected.

An inexperienced starting quarterback is operating behind a rebuilt offensive line. That offensive line is trying to establish a running game without last season’s leading rusher. All of it is happening under a new offensive coordinator.

Defensively, Clemson must replace every regular season starter at defensive tackle while integrating new personnel at safety.

LSU should attack those pressure points from the opening possession.

Baker should challenge Clemson’s offensive line and make Vizzina diagnose pressure. LSU should prioritize stopping the run and force Clemson into obvious passing situations.

Kiffin should test Clemson’s rebuilt defensive interior with Durham, Berry and Jones, then use tempo and formations to challenge Clemson’s communication. Green should become a particularly valuable piece because his size and versatility can force Clemson to make difficult personnel decisions.

Clemson may eventually solve many of these questions.

That is exactly why playing the Tigers on September 5 could benefit LSU.

LSU does not have to beat the Clemson team that might exist in November. It gets Clemson while the Tigers are replacing a veteran quarterback, rebuilding much of their offensive line, searching for a new leading runner, installing a new offense and reconstructing the middle of their defensive front.

The opportunity for LSU is obvious. Make Clemson prove it has answers before Clemson has time to become comfortable.