⚡ CFB Dashboard

After a lightning delay pushed the game back two hours, Clemson got a takeaway on the second play from scrimmage. That's pretty much where the positivity ended. The Tigers trail No. 11 LSU, 31-3, at halftime in Tiger Stadium. Dabo Swinney's team has been dominated in every aspect of the game and goes into the locker room down big. Here are our takeaways from the first half of football in Baton Rouge: CLEMSON STARTS FAST WITH A TAKEAWAY It felt like the game was never going to start. And then it did, and Ashton Hampton came up with an interception on a deflection to gift Christopher Vizzina a quieted crowd and just 33 yards to get six points. Similar to the game last August, the Tigers couldn't really take advantage of getting a takeaway. Nolan Hauser did put it right down the middle from 49 yards, but that's a situation where you need to do more. After holding LSU to three points on its next drive, Clemson started its following possession with a beautiful 22-yard pass to Bryant Wesco Jr. and another his way for nine more yards to get to midfield. But after a punt, and from that point on in the half, the Tigers had just 17 yards on 15 plays. VIZZINA THROWS PICK SIX, REYNOLDS COMES ON It's been a rough first game back for offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who has watched his entire unit fail to execute from top to bottom. The whole group has been out of sorts with no scent of a running game or a push up front on passing plays, essentially taking Wesco and T.J. Moore out of the game. Trailing 10-3 and needing to pick up a third down, the offense used a timeout to get everything communicated. Blake Baker blitzed his linebackers and dropped his athletic edge rusher, Jordan Ross, into coverage and he picked off an unaware Vizzina for six points the other way. Vizzina had another throw that TJ Dottery likely could've returned for a touchdown but the ball went just through his hands. Tait Reynolds didn't come on the field until the final drive of the half with the Tigers down 31-3. He'll get a lot more action in the second half as Clemson looks for anything. TIGERS GETTING MANHANDLED UP FRONT If you don't get any push up front, you aren't going to be able to run the ball. If you can't run the ball, you probably won't be competing in many high-stakes affairs like this one. With Collin Sadler out of the game with an injury, Easton Ware is making his first career start at right tackle. Ronan O'Connell is a new piece in the starting puzzle this season at right guard. While those were known concerns, the rest of the offensive line hasn't done anything, either. Clemson has only run 25 plays for 54 total yards while LSU has made it look easy in Lane Kiffin's first game as head coach, pounding away on the ground with Dilin Jones and the legs of Sam Leavitt at quarterback. LSU has 336 total yards on 52 plays, more than double the count of offensive snaps for Clemson. It's looking like 2024 all over again for the Tigers' run defense, getting mauled up front to the tune of 6.5 per carry. The total yardage is 336-54 in favor of LSU, including 213 on the ground, where Clemson has -4. The worst part? This isn't all that new of a harsh reality for Tigers fans.