Week 1 in Baton Rouge is already shaping up to be a pressure cooker, and now national analyst Josh Pate is tossing more logs on the fire. On the Crain & Cone college sports show, Pate didn’t sugarcoat it for Tiger Nation: as Clemson gears up for a September 5 showdown in the Bayou, the national narrative is stacked against us. FanDuel Sportsbook has Dabo Swinney’s Tigers as 11.5-point underdogs, and Pate flat-out said it would be a bigger shock to see Clemson pull the upset than to watch LSU run away with it.
The “Surprise” Meter and a Non-Functional Offense
When asked which would be the bigger shock—Clemson winning by a touchdown or LSU rolling by 20-plus—Pate didn’t even blink. He sees a world where LSU runs away with it without needing any miracles, while a Clemson win would mean flipping the script on everything we’ve seen lately.
“I think it would surprise me a little bit more, Clemson winning by seven,” Pate said. “Only because there’s a world where an LSU 20-point win is 27-6 or something like that. Clemson’s offense is just non-functional, and LSU grinds out a win.”
He pointed out that LSU wouldn’t even need to light up the scoreboard—just grind the clock, maybe snag a defensive touchdown, and let the Bayou crowd do the rest.
Dabo Swinney’s Return to the Underdog Script
This year’s storyline is a total 180 from last season’s opener. Back then, Clemson was the hunted, rolling into Death Valley as the No. 4 team in the country with all eyes on a national title run. But after a gut-punch 17-10 loss to LSU sent the hype train off the rails and led to a frustrating 7-6 finish, Dabo and the Tigers are back in a role we know all too well: the overlooked underdog. Pate pointed out it’s been a while since folks doubted a Clemson roster this talented. Swinney hasn’t shied away from last year’s letdowns, admitting, “We didn’t handle expectations well last year.”…