Clemson football's offense was supposed to be different this season, but it was much the same on Saturday.

No. 1 Georgia routed the No. 14-ranked Tigers, winning 34-3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Clemson suffered its third worst loss under coach Dabo Swinney and has lost three of its past four season openers. It was only the fourth time during Swinney's tenure that Clemson did not score a touchdown with the last time occurring against the Bulldogs in 2021.

The Tigers' offense was nonexistent outside of one drive that led to freshman Nolan Hauser making his first college field goal. The Tigers punted seven out of their 11 drives, including four three-and-outs. They recorded only three big plays — defined as rushes for 10-plus yards and completions 15 yards or longer — for 71 yards, while Georgia had 13 for 309 yards.

"We didn't make some critical plays that we had a chance to make," Swinney said. "When we did make a big, critical play to create momentum, we get a penalty."

Clemson was confident it could return to having "explosive chemistry" in 2024 after it lacked it last season. Quarterback Cade Klubnik averaged the lowest yards per attempt in the ACC last year and the team's offense ranked 50th in scoring offense and total offense.

Klubnik entered his second season as a starter in Year 2 of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley's system. Clemson brought in offensive line coach Matt Luke to improve the offensive line. It also added two dynamic freshman wideouts to play alongside a talented and healthy wide receiver unit.

Clemson faced the top team in the nation, but its offense failed to show promising signs when it faces a comparable foe. Its play even received criticism from former Clemson star DeAndre Hopkins in a since-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Our matchup, the people we go against every day shouldn't overwhelm us when we step up against and face a team like Georgia," wide receiver Antonio Williams said. "It's just disappointing to come out like this."

The Tigers connected on one 20-yard-plus throw, and Klubnik was 2-for-9 on throws 15 yards or more. The quarterback did have chances to connect on critical plays, but the rapport wasn't there.

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In the second quarter, Klubnik launched a 30-yard-plus pass to wide receiver Cole Turner, but the wideout appeared to stop running the route, and the pass was nearly intercepted. In the third, Klubnik had a touchdown to Williams on a corner route in the end zone, but the pass catcher could not locate the ball in the stadium's lights

Williams said he was shocked how the offense performed and credited the team making "routine mistakes" for the unit playing stale against the No. 1 team. Clemson had an illegal motion penalty on its opening drive that forced it to punt and had another infraction that ruined its most promising drive of the first half.

On the Tigers' third drive of the game, Williams made a 36-yard catch on the left sidelines, then made an 11-yard third-down conversion, but it was reversed on an illegal formation penalty, and the possession led to a punt.

"I thought we had a pretty good first half in terms of moving the football, then it would be penalty, penalty when we really can't have it," Klubnik said. "I think we're going to be able to do some really good things this year. Just continue to fine-tune the details."

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football: Tigers struggle to have explosive plays vs Georgia