Clemson’s opener was ugly enough to draw a blunt diagnosis from David Pollack.
The former Georgia All-American, now the host of the See Ball Get Ball podcast, didn’t dress up what he saw in the Tigers’ 51-10 loss to LSU. He called it an “absolute trainwreck” after Clemson managed just 145 total yards and went 1-for-13 on third down.
“Clemson got embarrassed,” Pollack said. “I mean, there’s nothing you can say otherwise.”
The quarterback situation has drawn plenty of attention, with Christopher Vizzina struggling in Chad Morris’ return to Clemson. Pollack didn’t dodge that issue, but he also argued the trouble ran far deeper than one player.
“Chad Morris is brought back to fix the offense. I don’t think it matters when you don’t have a quarterback,” Pollack said.
“And listen, could I blame a lot of this on [Christopher] Vizzina? Sure.
But if you can’t run the ball, if you can’t protect your QB, goodness gracious, there’s not a lot that was set up to be successful.”
He took aim at Clemson’s offensive line, saying the Tigers got little push in the run game and questioning the effort on some plays. Pollack also criticized the defense, putting some of the blame on coordinator Tom Allen and pointing to poor eye discipline and repeated issues against LSU’s shifts and motions. He said the safeties weren’t always where they needed to be in run support.
“Consistent misfits. Consistently not having enough numbers in the right spot, that’s not a good thing,” Pollack said.
Pollack also zeroed in on the bigger roster-building question around Dabo Swinney and the transfer portal. He said Clemson was more active there this offseason, but he still believes the Tigers passed on a quarterback addition that could have changed everything. He pointed to Miami quarterback Darian Mensah as the kind of player who would have altered the offense immediately.
“If they have Mensah, it’s totally different,” Pollack said. “The offense is totally different. You’re maximizing those receivers.”
Even so, Pollack made it clear he understands why Swinney stuck with the quarterbacks already on the roster, including Vizzina and freshman Tait Reynolds.
“I understand Dabo doing it his way, and you’ve gotta respect the piss out of it, man,” Pollack said. “Like, I respect the piss out of him going, I want to give these guys a shot that I told was going to get a shot.”
Still, he came back to the same point.
“But, you can’t win without a quarterback,” he said.
Pollack isn’t ready to write off Clemson after one bad night, though. He wants to see the Tigers respond against Georgia Southern before a later matchup with Miami, and he said the next step is finding an identity and cleaning up the basics up front.
“Let’s see the identity grow. Let’s see the offensive line get tougher, get more physical, create some running lanes, the offense pick up a little bit,” Pollack said.
He also pushed back on the idea that one loss changes the temperature around Swinney’s job security.
“But I don’t think it’s over for Clemson,” Pollack said. “And if you’re thinking Dabo’s getting fired, I think you’re wrong, too.”
For Pollack, the formula is simple from here.
“They’ve got to be more disciplined, and they’ve got to be tougher,” he said.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Opens Up On Tiger Stadium As LSU Drama Lingers
Lane Kiffins first year on LSUs sideline brought him his first chance to work a game from the home side at Tiger Stadium, and the setting lived up to the reputation on a night that ended with a win over Clemson. For a coach who has spent plenty of time around big venues, the atmosphere in Baton Rouge is still its own kind of backdrop, and this one offered the full LSU experience right away.
The football part is only one layer of the story, though, because LSU is still dealing with an SEC lawsuit tied to recruiting former NFL players, a case that has been delayed by a judge. Kiffin did not add the two players at the center of the dispute to his roster, and the conference also left a recent meeting without announcing any punishments or reprimands, leaving the situation hanging as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Kelly Just Added Fuel To LSU Fans Clemson Debate
Brian Kellys move into the CBS Sports booth has not kept him far from the conversation around LSU, especially when the Tigers come up in the same breath as Clemson. During a recent discussion of Clemsons uneven stretch, Kelly pointed to coaching and scheme as part of the reason the Tigers stumbled in their loss to LSU, arguing that talent alone does not solve everything when the structure around it is not working.
He also made clear that Clemsons roster looks different now than it did in its peak years, which only adds another layer to the long-running comparison between the programs. Kelly went on to address the recent tension between Dabo Swinney and a reporter, saying he was disappointed by how both sides handled the exchange, a comment that is likely to stir more debate among LSU fans who are still eager to measure what that win meant. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fight With The SEC Just Became A Bigger Fairness Debate
LSUs dispute with the SEC has turned into more than a rules fight, becoming a broader test of how the league wants to police fairness across college sports. The conference sued the school over its intention to roster NFL training camp invitees who still had extra college eligibility, a move that briefly put expulsion on the table before LSU ultimately backed away from using those players.
Even with that threat eased, the issue is hardly settled because the SEC has since signaled it could still pursue other discipline. The debate has also spilled beyond the courtroom and into the media, where Paul Finebaum and Stephen A. Smith have weighed in on whether the conferences response was justified or whether LSU was being singled out for pushing the boundaries in a way others might eventually try too. [Read more 🡒]