Clemson spent the lead-up to its opener at No. 11 LSU digging through a lot more than just LSU film.
With 44 transfers arriving in Baton Rouge and new head coach Lane Kiffin taking over, Dabo Swinney said the Tigers had to pull tape from across the country - and even outside college football - to get a handle on what Clemson will see at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5.
“You spend all summer watching Arizona State to get a feel for this quarterback. You're watching Colorado to get a feel for this elite, elite left tackle they got.
… You're studying Wisconsin. You're studying Ole Miss,” he said.
“Been spending this last week or so studying the Browns and the Cowboys and the Saints and the Bucs, trying to get ready. I actually got to go watch practice early June with the Browns, so I’m probably going to get turned into tampering.”
That’s the reality of trying to prepare for a roster that’s been completely reshaped. Clemson and LSU can study individual pieces, but neither side will know how everything fits together until kickoff.
On Clemson’s side, defensive coordinator Tom Allen is the one sorting through the mess. In his second year with the program, and with nine defensive transfers added to his own group, Allen is preparing for LSU for the second time in a row - but this version looks nothing like the one Clemson saw a year ago.
Clemson lost that opener at home last season, though LSU managed only 17 points. Last year’s LSU offense averaged 22.8 points, but Allen spent plenty of time looking at Ole Miss instead because Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. came over from a Rebels attack that averaged 36.9 points per game in 2025.
“The tempo piece is gonna be obvious right out of the gate. That’s their M.O.,” Allen said.
“They run the ball extremely well. That’s the part that kind of gets lost, you think about tempo teams throwing the ball.
… Really, completely different type of system than the previous offense they had before.”
Allen also pointed to the “green dot” as part of what makes LSU even harder to get a read on. The sticker, which designates a coach-to-player radio system, lets teams get play calls in faster; on offense, it’s the quarterback who wears it. Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt will have that role for LSU this season, and Allen said he is one of 19 new players Clemson identified from LSU’s offensive depth chart.
To fill in the blanks, Clemson has been piecing together as much film as it can.
“We went back and watched Leavitt when he was with Michigan State, went back and watched his high school film,” Allen said. “Just trying to get as much film possible on all these guys.”
One of the few familiar faces Clemson does know well is Trey’Dez Green, and he may be the toughest puzzle of all. The 6-foot-7 tight end was an All-SEC second-teamer last season, also spent time with LSU’s basketball team in 2025, and is expected to take another step in 2026 in Kiffin’s system. He caught two passes for 17 yards and a touchdown against Clemson last year.
“It’s tough. … He’s basically a power forward out there,” Allen said.
“You gotta know where they’re gonna position him and have a great plan for him in every snap, in every situation. … We played against him and didn’t win all those matchups last year.
We gotta find a way to win those this year.”
While Allen is building a defense to handle LSU’s pace and personnel, Chad Morris is getting ready to debut a refreshed Clemson offense in his second stint with the program. It’s also his first time calling plays since 2020.
The big question around Morris has been simple: what does the offense look like now? Back in July, he said Clemson will still use tempo, but not as a permanent identity. When the Tigers speed up and skip the huddle will depend on the matchup.
“You’ll have to watch in a few days here at 7:30. I can’t allude everything there,” he said.
“But yeah, yeah. Yes.
We’ll play with tempo.”
Morris didn’t give away much beyond that, but he did confirm one thing from his earlier Clemson run will stay the same: he’ll coach from the sideline, not the box. He said there were discussions about moving upstairs, but he wants players to feel his urgency on the field.
And if there’s any concern about rust, Morris isn’t showing it.
“Sometimes it takes stepping away and being out of it to appreciate the great years we were here,” he said. “It’s kind of like Blue Bell ice cream, the glory days are happening right now.”
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