Clowney doesn't come through on pregame threat to LSU QB

• After being sacked four times last week, LSU QB Zach Mettenberger was only brought down once
• "Our front seven didn't come to play," Jadeveon Clowney said
• South Carolina came into the game No. 4 in the nation in sacks.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Locker room material from newspapers and websites is often forgotten about by the time a football game kicks off. But when a threatening comment is made just outside a locker room less than an hour before kickoff, it will resonate and reverberate as loudly as any stadium roar. This is what happened Saturday night on the field at Tiger Stadium just outside the chute that goes to LSU's locker room, according to LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger:

"We're coming for you, 8," a South Carolina player told Mettenberger, who wears No. 8.

"You're not going to make it through the game," South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney said.

"The little guy didn't have his jersey on, but he was a player - probably a defensive back," Mettenberger said.

Clowney came into the game second in the Southeastern Conference with 6.5 sacks. His team came in No. 1 in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation with 25 sacks. Mettenberger was sacked four times last week at Florida, and his offensive line was down to two of its original starters from the beginning of the season because of injuries and a departure.

No. 3 South Carolina, however, managed only one sack of Mettenberger, and it was not by Clowney or a defensive lineman in the No. 9 Tigers' 23-21 victory in front of 92,734 at Tiger Stadium Saturday night.

"The player was Clowney and a defensive back. They were right out here when I went out to do warm-ups," Mettenberger said while in the LSU locker room, just a few feet from the field. "They definitely had a few choice words to say to me, but I'm guessing they're looking dumb right now with the loss on their record. Obviously, it didn't work out for them too well."

Mettenberger completed 12 of 25 passes for 148 yards with an interception and just one sack by linebacker Shaq Wilson when Mettenberger tried to scramble and ran right into Wilson.

"I was protected very well for most of the night," Mettenberger said. "We had a great game plan. They wanted me to get the ball quick out of my hands because they had a great defensive line."

LSU's offensive line was missing starting senior right tackle Alex Hurst, who has temporarily left the team because of a personal family issue, starting junior right guard Josh Williford, who suffered a concussion last week, and junior left tackle Chris Faulk, who was lost for the season with a knee injury after the first game of the season. Freshmen Trai Turner and Vadal Alexander started at right guard and right tackle for the Tigers. Senior Josh Dworaczyk, who has played left guard most of his career, started at left tackle and went against Clowney - the SEC freshman of the year and a first team freshman All-American last season.

"Our front seven didn't come to play," Clowney said. "We gave up too many yards and too many third-down conversions. We can't win like that."

Clowney managed six tackles, but there were no sacks. Dworaczyk was extremely motivated to say the least.

"Well, before the game, I don't know if you heard this or not, but one of the guys from their team went up to Zach and told him that he was going to make sure that he didn't finish the game," said Dworaczyk, who did not realize it was the same man he had just blocked throughout the night. "And to me, that's emotional."

Mettenberger was not the only one who heard Clowney's and the other player's comment. Other LSU players and coaches were within earshot.

"The coaches heard. Some players heard it," Dworaczyk said. "I don't know who it was, but it was a defensive guy. And so when that comes into this locker room ..."

Dworaczyk had to pause.

"I'm getting fired up just thinking about it now because Zach's one of my best friends," he said. "And when you hear that, it elevates your game that much more. It's always your job to keep a quarterback clean, but when the threat comes out there, you step up and protect your quarterback with everything that you got. And I think our offensive line, backs and tight ends did a great job the entire night of doing that. And Zach was able to back cleanly and throw passes, and we're a deadly offense when we can do that."

LSU's offensive line also provided for a rushing attack that totalled 289 yards on 61 carries.

Dworaczyk was in the locker room when Clowney and the other South Carolina player approached Mettenberger.

"Some of us were were still in here warming up and stretching, and by the time we got out on the field, somebody was like, 'Hey, a guy on their defense just threatened Zach that he wasn't going to finish the game,'" Dworaczyk said. "I think from that point on everybody had the understanding that he wasn't going to get touched. Not giving up any sacks (to the defensive line) was huge for us as an offense."