LSU topped Clemson at home 51-10.

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In the second battle of Death Valley in two years, Lane Kiffin’s LSU Tigers reclaimed the title after a statement opening victory.

As if we hadn’t waited long enough for Lane Kiffin’s debut, a lightning delay forced us to wait a little longer, but it was well worth it. 

Things didn’t get started the way LSU would have hoped, as new quarterback Sam Leavitt threw an interception on the second play of the game. Clemson then drove down the field and kicked a field goal, but that was about as much fun as Dabo Swinney and his squad would have. 

The Tigers from Baton Rouge went on to score 51 unanswered points on their way to an astounding victory over Clemson. 

All eyes were on Leavitt and his flashy receivers from the portal, but the star of the show turned out to be the running game, headlined by Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones. He rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns while running it down Clemson’s throat.

He wasn’t the only one showing off his legs, however, as Leavitt also impressed in that department. The quarterback added 113 yards and two touchdowns of his own. 

LSU’s offense held them back quite a bit last year, but it’s hard to envision that happening again. In fact, it’s hard to envision anything holding this team back. Combine Kiffin’s offense with Blake Baker’s defense, and you have a pretty complete team.

Baker’s unit was outstanding, holding the opposing Tigers to just 145 total yards. Swinney’s quarterbacks couldn’t get anything going, and neither could the run game. 

Over the offseason, there were a lot of questions surrounding the offense, but the running backs and offensive line appeared to be areas of the team that Swinney was confident in. Perhaps it was blind faith, because he probably doesn’t think so highly of them now. 

His quarterbacks were definitely a question mark, and for good reason. Neither Christopher Vizzina nor Tait Reynolds looked ready for the moment. It’s hard to imagine anybody would be ready for that environment, but neither of them looked settled in for a second.

After this performance, it sort of begs the question: Is Dabo Swinney the right guy for Clemson at this point? It’s been years since Clemson was a national title contender, and even when they reached the College Football Playoff in 2024, they lost four games and it took some magic to get there. 

Perhaps this is an overreaction and that question is a bit premature, but Clemson just didn’t look like Clemson on Saturday. 

For what was supposed to be a huge prime-time game to kick off the college football season, it didn’t live up to the hype, at least on Clemson’s end of the bargain. 

If you’re Kiffin and LSU, things are geauxing great on the Bayou.

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