Coming off an underwhelming opening-game loss at home to LSU, No. 8 Clemson and quarterback Cade Klubnik will look to rebound Saturday afternoon against visiting Troy.While there is no shame in losing 17-10 to a loaded LSU team that jumped six spots in the rankings this week to No. 3, Clemson is eager to show improvement, especially on offense, against a Sun Belt foe.”Everybody can just start throwing mud now. Just bring it on,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said in an animated press conference on Tuesday. “Tell everybody we suck. Coaches suck. Cade stinks. Start writing that again.”If somebody’s actually making a list to cite, LSU shut down Clemson’s rushing attack on Saturday night. Swinney’s Tigers managed just 31 yards on 20 carries. Take away LSU’s pair of sacks and it was 53 yards on 18 carries, which sounds a little less awful.Becoming one-dimensional on offense limited the effectiveness of preseason Heisman candidate Klubnik, who in a heavy rush completed 19 of 38 passes for 230 yards and no touchdowns, with one interception.”He had a bad day,” Swinney said. “Ain’t no other way to say it. If (No.) 2 ain’t a dude, we ain’t winning. Dudes gotta be dudes. This is big boy football.”With Clemson’s offense sputtering, LSU dominated possession as it held the ball for more than 37 minutes and wore down the Tigers’ defense. After keeping LSU out of the end zone in the first half, Clemson surrendered two touchdown drives after the break.The Clemson defense’s mission against Troy is well-defined. The Tigers will be focused on running back Tae Meadows, who produced 186 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in a 38-20 Week 1 victory over Nicholls.Meadows carried just four times in the previous two seasons at Troy, but he appears ready to take the mantle in a program that has featured a 1,000-yard rusher each of the last three years.”You better want to tackle,” Swinney said. “It’s gonna be a physical football game. It’s just how they play the game.”
