CFB Championship: 3 reasons Clemson upsets LSU

Passing Game/Wide Receivers

I know it’s crazy to think Clemson has the better passing game. All we hear is Joe Burrows winning the Heisman Trophy and how they score so easily.

However, that will not be Oklahoma’s defense out there when they take the field against Clemson.

We’ll touch on this later, but Clemson’s run game should slow down LSU’s pass rush enough to give him time to work the in the passing game.

Also, Clemson has only allowed 16 sacks all season compared to LSU allowing 30 sacks.

Lawrence does a good job of getting rid of the ball quickly anyways, but the thing to keep an eye on is Clemson’s wide receivers against the LSU secondary.

Clemson has huge wide receivers who can win one-on-one matchups downfield. Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross are both 6’4″ with Amari Rogers capable of making his presence felt.

Running back Travis Ettienne is a big part of the passing game out of the backfield and capable of taking it to the house at any moment.

Clemson will look to establish the run and play off that to attack downfield with those larger receivers for explosive plays. It’s something they’ve done all season and have seven receivers with double-digit average yards per catch.

It should be noted that LSU has given up 19 passing touchdown receptions on the season too. Clemson’s defense has only given up nine passing touchdowns all season while hauling in 19 interceptions which is ranked No. 3 in the nation.