Preview and Prediction: Louisiana Tech at Clemson

For the first time this season, the Clemson Tigers will play on a normal cadence this week when the team hosts the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 17. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET.

Clemson and Louisiana Tech met in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho at the end of the 2001 season. The Bulldogs then traveled to Clemson for the Tigers’ 2002 home opener, as the two schools met within a three-game period on Clemson’s schedule. 

The Tigers earned a 49-24 Humanitarian Bowl win in Woodrow Dantzler’s last game at Clemson in 2001. Despite playing in snowy conditions that featured the second-coldest recorded kickoff temperature in school history (32 degrees), the Tigers threw five touchdown passes in that game, then an all-time Clemson single game record. 

Clemson then won the 2002 game at Clemson, 33- 13, behind quarterback Willie Simmons, who later joined Clemson’s staff en route to his current position as head coach at Florida A&M. Clemson won the programs’ most recent meeting, a 51-0 home shutout in 2006. James Davis (143), C.J. Spiller (127) and Demerick Chancellor (113) all reached 100 rushing yards in the game, the fourth such occurrence in Clemson history.

Zach Lentz: The Tigers will look to put a complete game together this week, as they take on the Bulldogs. The defense, namely the secondary, will have their hands full facing the high-flying, air raid-style offense of the Bulldogs. However, expect the Tiger defense to show the "juice" they were missing last week, and the offense to take another step forward, as they look ahead to their toughest test on the young season next Saturday—at Wake Forest.

Clemson 45, Louisiana Tech 13

Brad Senkiw: Week 3 is when Clemson should start showing what it really is, and that means more consistency on offense, better intensity on defense and a special teams that don't make mistakes. Clemson's talent and two games of experience should shine through against the Bulldogs, and questions should be answered...good or bad.

Clemson 34, Louisiana Tech 6

Will Vandervort: Clemson has not played a complete game so far, and I'll be surprised if it happens in this game. It is still too early in the season for a team to have a complete game. However, I do think you will see a more complementary performance from the Tigers. I think last week was an anomaly for the Clemson defense. I think that will likely be that unit's worst performance of the year. The defense will bounce back and the offense will continue to improve. Tigers win this game with relative ease, but will not cover the 33 points.

Clemson 40, Louisiana Tech 13

Jason Priester: It's really hard to imagine this Clemson defense not showing up in consecutive games. After the less-than-stellar performance against Furman, expect a much different effort against Louisiana Tech, as Wes Goodwin's unit will be more than motivated. The Bulldogs run that air raid offense, so they will make some plays, but points will be hard to come by. On the other side of the ball, DJ Uiagalelei and the offense take another step forward. Louisiana Tech has allowed more than 500 rushing yards through its first two games, meaning the Tigers should also be able to finally get the ground game going. A late score against some of the backups makes this one look a little closer than it actually is.

Clemson 45 Louisiana Tech 14