Dabo Swinney Calls LSU Offense 'Special'

Dabo Swinney says Clemson will have to keep LSU from making gaining big yards after the catch when the two teams play in the national title game in New Orleans on Monday

The way the college football schedule worked out in 2019, there was a little over two weeks between the semifinal games and the national title game instead of the usual one week. It's seemed even longer.

So much downtime has given the talking heads twice the amount of time to analyze each team and give you their takes on how the game will play out.

For Clemson fans, it's been a constant reminder of how the LSU offense is just to good to be stopped. Today, they got the chance to hear what the Clemson head coach thought about the opposing offense.

"Well, they're special," Dabo Swinney said. "They look like our guys. You could put them in Clemson helmets and put our guys in LSU helmets and nobody would miss a beat. We might be a little taller, but just elite playmakers. And Joe would be the – Joe is incredible. But he's got greatness around him, too."

One concern for Clemson is the potential for mismatches defending the passing game. 

"But schematically they do a good job of creating mismatches," Swinney said. "Then it's yards after the catch. These guys can run with it, they can break tackles, they can make people miss. But they're all on the same page. They just have a really good  chemistry. So it's a challenge." 

Auburn was the team to have the most success defending this LSU offense during the course of the season.

"Them were big (Auburn) dudes up front that disrupted everything," Swinney said. "Those guys did a great job, man. We're built a little differently right now than Auburn, but we're similar in some ways, too. And they did do a great job."

It's no secret this LSU offense is explosive and can beat you in a lot of ways. Clemson will need to mix things up defensively and disguise the looks they throw at Joe Burrow.

"You can't just sit there and play zone or just sit there and play man," Swinney said. "I thought they (Auburn) were smart and creative and mixing things up. Just trying to throw them different pitches."