NEW ORLEANS _ Clemson had an obvious disadvantage as far as the crowd was concerned at the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. That is expected to be the case again during Monday's national championship game against LSU.
At least 62% of the seats at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans are expected to be filled by LSU fans, according to a projection from Vivid Seats. And that number is likely to increase as game time gets closer.
Clemson has a loyal fan base that travels well, but LSU's campus is less than 90 minutes away from the Superdome. It's a nearly nine-hour road trip from Clemson to New Orleans.
"We'll have a good amount of fans there because we have really good fans, but it's just hard," Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. "That's in their backyard. It's going to be mostly LSU, but it was mostly Ohio State in Arizona too, so it's going to be similar. Definitely going to be electric and really fun."
A review of resale ticket sites Saturday showed the cheapest seat for Monday's game at $805.
Ohio State fans made up approximately 70% of the crowd at the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, but the lack of a home-field advantage didn't seem to bother Clemson.
The Tigers rallied from a 16-0 deficit to earn a 29-23 victory and a spot in the national title game for the fourth time in five years.
Clemson players believe playing road games earlier this year, as well as essentially a road game in the Fiesta Bowl, should help them come Monday night.
"We have to be clean with our communication and execution so that everyone's on the same page and we're not sending mixed messages and have some people thinking it's one thing and it's really another," left tackle Jackson Carman said. "We need to do a really good job of communicating."
While Clemson was able to rally for a win against Ohio State, receiver Amari Rodgers feels that it is critical the Tigers get off to a strong start against LSU to take the crowd out of the game.
LSU has the most explosive offense in the country, leading the nation in total offense (564.1) and scoring offense (48.9). Rallying against QB Joe Burrow and company will likely be more difficult than it was against Ohio State.
"Just go out and make plays early. That's really what we need to do," Rodgers said. "Just go in there and play with composure. It's just like any away game, just a bigger opponent on a bigger stage. So at the end of the day we're mature enough as an offense to know what we have to do to take care of business."
Clemson running back Travis Etienne, who is a Louisiana native, grew up attending games at LSU and knows how crazy the fan base can be.
LSU is known as having one of the best home environments in all of college football, and Clemson can't let the noise get to them.
"It's a unique experience of its own," Etienne said of attending a game at LSU. "It's just really crazy loud. They're very passionate. It's something I feel everyone should experience for themselves."
