There was a mountain of hype around Clemson football coming into the 2025 season, as Dabo Swinney and the Tigers entered the season ranked No. 4 in the country and with plenty of buzz about a potential national championship run.
A lot of that buzz stemmed from a strong close to the 2024 season that saw Swinney and company win the ACC Championship in dramatic fashion over SMU and then push Texas to the brink in a true road game in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The Tigers then returned quarterback Cade Klubnik and a number of other starters from last season's team, many of which are potential first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, giving them one of the most talented rosters in the nation.
Coming into Week 1, many thought there was no better way for the Tigers to show off what they have in store this season than with a home tilt against No. 9 LSU in a top 10 clash on Saturday night. However, things didn't go to plan, as LSU dominated the second half on its way to a very impressive 17-10 win.
During the game, different holes popped up on the Clemson side that cost them at different points in the game. Those issues will all have to be fixed if the Tigers are going to run through the ACC once again and get back to the College Football Playoff with a chance to make some noise. Here are three reasons Clemson fans should be on edge after starting the year off 0-1.
Antonio Williams' hamstring injury
One of those aforementioned first-round prospects around Klubnik is star wide receiver Antonio Williams, who came into the season as an early candidate to win the Biletnikoff Award. However, Williams didn't even make it through a quarter against LSU before leaving the game with a hamstring injury that would keep him out for the rest of the night.
On Tuesday, Swinney said that Williams is just day-to-day, which is very good news on the surface. However, injuries like that can linger, so Clemson is hoping that he gets better soon.
“Any time you have any type of soft tissue-type injuries and things like that, especially a skill player, you're always concerned,” Swinney said, via ESPN. “Antonio will do what he needs to do to get himself back.”
When Williams went out, Clemson will be depending a lot on T.J. Moore and Bryant Wescoe Jr. to be weapons in the passing game for Klubnik. Both are very talented players but they aren't as explosive as Williams is, and you felt that missing piece of the offense on Saturday night.
Last season, Williams reeled in 75 passes for 904 yards and 11 touchdowns and came into this season as a preseason All-American. Now, the Tigers may be forced to figure it out on the perimeter without him at the start of the season.
Clemson's defensive line got dominated by LSU
Outside of Klubnik, the biggest reason for optimism coming into the season for Clemson was the defensive line. Defensive ends T.J. Parker and Will Heldt along with defensive tackle Peter Woods all have a chance to be NFL players, and the front four was supposed to be one of the best in the nation.
From watching the game on Saturday night, you couldn't tell. LSU struggled to get a ton of explosive plays on the ground, but the pass protection for Garrett Nussmeier was one of the deciding factors in the second half. The veteran quarterback sniffed out all of Clemson's tricks on defense and got into the right protections, and the offensive line held up against the fearsome front of Clemson.
Now, LSU has one of the best offensive lines that Clemson will have to play against all season long, but that performance was still a red flag for the Tigers, as they will need to be more impactful on that front if they want to win the national title.
Nussmeier is almost certainly the best quarterback that will be on the other side of Clemson this season, but there are still some quality signal callers in the ACC. This highly-touted front four will have to be much more disruptive as a pass-rushing unit going forward this season if it wants to repeat as conference champs.
Running game was a non-factor
Klubnik did not have his best game on Saturday night and was unable to pick up where he left off with a stellar game against Texas in the CFP last season. The veteran signal caller finished just 19-of-38 passing with 230 yards and an interception, and the injury to Williams certainly played a part in those struggles.
However, that wasn't the only factor. Clemson's inability to run the football was a massive red flag coming out of this game, especially considering that star ball carrier Phil Mafah was one of the team's biggest losses from last season.
Graduate student Adam Randall, who came into this season with just four career carries, got the start in this game and ran the ball just five times for 16 yards. As a team, Clemson ran the ball 20 times for just 31 yards and essentially abandoned the running game in the second half, instead relying solely on Klubnik's arm to get the job done.
While the star quarterback will be able to win plenty of games with his arm, Swinney and his staff absolutely have to figure out how to get a competent ground game if the Tigers are going to make a playoff run this winter. Nobody is saying it has to resemble some of Nick Saban's old Alabama teams, but it does have to be enough to keep defenses honest. If not, Clemson could be headed for an earlier exit than expected.
