Gideon Davidson says Clemson can't let LSU loss 'linger' into Georgia Southern

Gideon Davidson remembers what happened the last time Clemson had to respond to a loss to LSU.

The Tigers won the next game. But the response wasn't exactly convincing.

After opening the 2025 season with a 17-10 loss to LSU, Clemson returned home and fell behind Troy 16-0 before scoring the final 27 points of a 27-16 victory.

A year later, Clemson again enters its second game coming off a loss at LSU. Davidson said yesterday that he believes the Tigers learned something from how they handled it the first time.

“I would just say the little basic details,” Davidson said. “I feel like we let the loss linger a lot last year, and the difference this year is going to be how we respond to the loss this past Saturday. Really just focusing on the things that we can control.”

That response will come against Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

For Davidson, moving forward doesn't mean ignoring what happened in Baton Rouge.

The sophomore running back said Clemson has spent the early part of the week identifying the mistakes that hurt the offense against LSU. He also pointed the finger at himself.

“I felt like I definitely left a lot on the field,” Davidson said. “I wish I could get a few plays back, but the reality is I can't. I look forward to this upcoming game.”

Davidson characterized many of Clemson's offensive issues as mental rather than physical.

“For me, it was more just mentality,” Davidson said. “More mental mistakes. Really just things that were easy, basic things that we can fix. Nothing really performance-wise that we got to work on. It was just mental mistakes.”

He had the same assessment when asked about the offensive line's struggles.

“Honestly, we have the talent. We have the ability to get it fixed,” Davidson said. “Like I said earlier, it's just really mental mistakes. There's no real talent issues that we have. It's all things that we can fix on the board and get it right the next week.”

Last year's post-LSU performance provides a reminder of why correcting those details quickly matters.

Against Troy, Clemson surrendered a touchdown on the game's opening possession and later gave up a pick-six as the Trojans built their 16-point advantage. Clemson finally responded with a field goal late in the first half before taking control after halftime.

The Tigers scored on five consecutive possessions across the final three quarters, with Adam Randall rushing for 112 yards and Bryant Wesco Jr. catching two touchdown passes.

Davidson doesn't want Clemson to require another comeback before putting LSU behind it.

He said the early signs in practice have been encouraging.

“We really honed in on the mistakes that we made,” Davidson said. “And we had the right focus, the right mindset coming back yesterday in practice. And I feel like our offense right now is going to do really well this week and in this upcoming game. I feel like our mindset is being sharp in all the basic things.”

Last year, Clemson eventually overcame its post-LSU hangover.

Davidson's goal this time is to make sure there isn't one.