Stephen A. Smith thought Clemson had a chance to make a statement against LSU. Instead, the ESPN personality came away stunned by just how badly things went for Dabo Swinney’s program.
After putting No. 11 LSU on upset alert ahead of the matchup, Smith completely changed his tune following the Tigers’ 51-10 loss in Baton Rouge. On Monday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take, he didn’t hold back while discussing what he saw from the Tigers.
“I will tell you what it says about Clemson. What a disaster,” Smith said. “I mean, I’m not gonna lie to y’all. It is rare in my lifetime – I’m talking about two national programs, well-known programs. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an ass-kicking on that level. And I’m not talking about the score. … Clemson got beat
up, I mean, like they stole something. And when I mean stole something, it could’ve been groceries. It could’ve been somebody’s money. It could’ve been a woman. It could’ve been anything. I mean, they got beat like they stole something. I mean, it was bad.”
The numbers certainly gave Smith plenty of ammunition.
LSU held a 31-3 advantage at halftime after piling up 336 yards compared to only 54 for Clemson. The first-down margin at that point was an even more stunning 21-1.
By the end of the game, LSU had rolled up 644 total yards and 38 first downs. Clemson finished with just 145 yards and eight first downs.
“I have known Dabo Swinney for years. I interviewed him last week. And I literally sat there like this, ‘Oh my Lord. This is so bad.’ I mean, LSU looked like a man amongst boys. When I tell you that Clemson didn’t even look like a college football team. They didn’t look like a Division II team. It looked like an SEC school was going up against a bunch of high school freshmen. That’s how bad Clemson got their ass kicked. I mean, it was next level ass-whipping. I looked at it and I said, ‘My God. What the hell is this?’”
The 41-point defeat was the largest of Swinney’s Clemson head-coaching career, and Smith also pointed directly toward the Tigers’ struggles on offense.
Starting quarterback Christopher Vizzina was eventually pulled as Clemson searched for some kind of answer.
“And the quarterback [Christopher] Vizzina, you’re relying on him – he gets benched. He gets benched. You benched him,” Smith said. “In the first half, you’re talking about a Clemson team that had minus-10 yards rushing, in the third quarter. That was the stat, and in the fourth quarter, it was zero. I’m talking about their total level of production. We’re talking about a defense that gave up 644 yards in total offense.
“I mean, an annihilation. That was the kind of ass-whipping that we saw this weekend. I couldn’t believe that a Dabo Swinney team got beat like this.”
Smith then took his criticism another step, joking that Clemson’s players should spend the week inside the football facility rather than having to face other students around campus.
“It’s the kind of beatdown where the Clemson football team, they actually should be given the week off from class just so they don’t have to show their face to other students on campus,” Smith said. “They should actually be confined to football facilities. And bring the food to them, Uber Eats and all of that. Bring it right there.
Dabo Swinney reveals Clemson starter 'probably' out for the season
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 8, 2026
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“Don’t let them out, because they shouldn’t want to show their face to anybody – not just on campus, but in the state of South Carolina. I mean, it was that kind of beatdown. I’m talking a stomp of epic proportions. They should stay in the football facility. Give them the week off class. Don’t even let them go to class because damn, it was that embarrassing.”
For Clemson, the concern goes well beyond taking a brutal loss against another national program. The Tigers were overwhelmed on both sides of the ball, producing one of the most lopsided performances of the Swinney era and giving critics like Smith plenty to talk about afterward.
Now Clemson has to prove that what happened in Baton Rouge was an outlier rather than a sign of much bigger problems for the program.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Stephen A. Smith puts Clemson on blast after getting torn apart by LSU
