For Dabo Swinney, 2026 was meant to be the year Clemson bounced back. One game into the season, those hopes look crushed. Lane Kiffin’s LSU delivered a ruthless 51-10 beatdown, handing the $115 million coach his worst career defeat. And as Clemson absorbed the humiliation, Stephen A. Smith had a blunt message for the program.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“The football team, they actually should be given a week off from class just so they don’t have to show their face to other students on campus. They should actually be confined to football facilities and bring the food to them, Uber Eats and all of that. Bring it right there,”said Smith on ESPN’s First Take.
Smith’s words might feel a bit dramatic, but they reflect what happened during the game. To be exact, LSU outclassed Clemson badly, dominating them on both the offensive and defensive fronts. From the opening whistle, LSU exposed Clemson’s offensive struggles, controlling the game in every department.
Clemson’s performance was so poor that they did not even surpass 100 total yards until a late touchdown drive, while LSU amassed 644 yards, including 309 on the ground. The Clemson Tigers finished with just 105 passing yards, surrendered four sacks, and converted only 1 of 13 third-down attempts.
“Don’t let them out because they shouldn’t want to show their face to anybody, not just on campus but in the state of South Carolina. I mean, it was that kind of beatdown. They should stay in the football facilities, give them the week off class. Don’t even let them go to class because damn,” said Smith.
If we talk about the roster-building approach, Swinney and Clemson operate differently from almost every other Power Four program. They do not heavily rely on the transfer portal to secure the best available players. In 2025, Clemson brought in a program-high total of four transfers. This season, that number has jumped to 15. Just two years ago, the number was zero.
Inexperience was particularly evident against LSU, as apart from center Harris Sewell, the remaining four starters had combined for just seven career starts. After Cade Klubnik’s exit, Swinney turned to Christopher Vizzina to take over at quarterback. Vizzina threw for 83 yards but also recorded an interception against LSU.
Swinney’s approach is simple: develop the talent already within the program rather than relying on the transfer portal. However, this strategy might be backfiring on the program, as was evident against LSU, a team that brought in every possible talent through the transfer portal.
“If you are not going to adjust. If you are going to be willing to adjust to the times that I know you had been anti-transfer portal for so long. You have been anti-paying players for so long,” said Emmanuel Acho on the SpeakEasy podcast.
Is there any hope for the team? Well, if Vizzina gets more comfortable, Gideon Davidson gets more carries, and the defense gains more experience, then Clemson could still do something. But whether the learning curve goes upward or downward is yet to be ascertained.
Clemson will face Georgia Southern at home next, followed by North Carolina and a trip to California, and those games will be a real test.