LSU’s season opener comes down to one thing above everything else: whether the offense can run the football with any consistency.
Coaches haven’t been shy about saying so all fall, and that emphasis hasn’t let up through camp.
Clemson isn’t short on answers up front defensively. They struggle on the other side of the ball trying to run the ball much at all last season.
Edge rusher Will Heldt causes problems in the backfield on his own, and linebacker Sammy Brown does the heavy lifting at the second level about as well as anyone LSU will see this season.
Where Clemson gets thinner is at defensive tackle, a spot filled mostly with unproven players, not far off from where LSU’s own interior line sits.
That’s the matchup LSU needs to lean on early.
Dilin Jones enters the opener as the clear front-runner in the backfield after a strong fall camp.
Harlem Berry gives LSU a shiftier option who’s just as comfortable catching passes as he is between the tackles.
Caden Durham and Stacy Gage fill out a group with legitimate depth behind them. LSU doesn’t necessarily need all four to show up big, but at least one of its top two backs needs to have a night that moves the needle.
Run blocking looked better in camp than last fall
Last season this conversation would’ve sounded a lot different.
LSU finished 16th among SEC teams in rushing production a year ago, and a shaky offensive line carried most of the blame.
Camp reports this year tell a noticeably different story, with players and staff describing a group that’s hitting harder and finishing blocks better than it has in recent memory.
Offensive line coach Eric Wolford and run-game coordinator James Cregg have taken the credit for that turnaround, and Saturday is where it either shows up or doesn’t.
Some have tossed out 200 rushing yards as the number to chase. A more grounded target sits closer to 160 or 170 yards with a pair of trips to the end zone, and hitting that would go a long way toward separating LSU from a game that stays too tight for comfort.
Front seven needs to set tempo early
LSU’s defensive front carries its own uncertainty heading into the opener.
Princewill Umanmielen is the lone proven commodity, and Deuce Geralds should log heavy snaps alongside him, but the interior and the second edge spot figure to rotate through multiple bodies.
Jordan Ross, Dylan Carpenter, Lamar Brown and Dominick McKinley will all get their shot to grab the job.
Tiger Stadium’s near-record crowd figures to play a role of its own.
Consistent pressure up front would free up linebackers Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery, along with safeties Ty Benefield and Dashawn Spears, to make plays on the back end.
Clemson quarterback Christopher Vizzina steps into his first career road start Saturday.
He’s got weapons on the perimeter capable of making plays, but a front that gets home consistently could turn this into a rough night for a Clemson offense still finding its footing.
