Chad Morris has been out of Fayetteville for nearly seven years, but Saturday night delivered a harsh reminder that some matchups just keep following him around.
Now in his first year back as Clemson’s offensive coordinator, Morris watched his offense get swallowed up in LSU’s 51-10 rout of the Tigers in Lane Kiffin’s debut in Baton Rouge. The game started with a small break for Clemson, but it never really turned into anything more than that.
Clemson picked off LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt on the second play from scrimmage and had the ball at the LSU 33-yard line. Four plays later, the Tigers came away with only a 49-yard field goal, and that was the last scoring production from Morris’ offense until the final four minutes of the game.
The rest of the night belonged to LSU. Clemson starter Christopher Vizzina threw a pick-six in the first quarter, and by halftime LSU had already built a 31-3 cushion. Even that margin apparently wasn’t enough to satisfy Kiffin, if the alleged leaked video of his halftime speech is authentic.
By the time Clemson running back David Eziomume finally got into the end zone with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter, the result had long been decided. LSU rolled to the 51-10 win and sent a clear message in its season opener.
The numbers told the same story. Clemson finished with just 145 total yards, eight first downs, and a one-for-13 mark on third down.
For Arkansas fans, it probably looked familiar. Morris’ 2018 Razorbacks offense also struggled badly against LSU, finishing with 216 yards and going two-for-12 on third down.
This one was even uglier.
Dabo Swinney didn’t try to polish it up afterward. Asked about Morris’ play-calling, he said, “We didn't do anything good,” before adding that he believed his offensive coordinator would get the unit turned around.
Social media, though, was far less forgiving, with plenty of reaction to how completely Clemson’s offense unraveled. The final score was lopsided enough on its own. The way it played out made it feel worse.
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Arkansas Heads To Utah With One Huge Question Up Front
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The challenge gets a lot stiffer in Salt Lake City, where Utahs offense will test an Arkansas defense that has to be sharper after an uneven start. Quincy Rhodes is one of the players expected to help set the tone up front, and how much disruption Arkansas can generate may go a long way toward determining whether the Razorbacks can hang around long enough for the rest of the game to settle in. [Read more 🡒]