The LSU Tigers enter the season as one of college football’s most intriguing teams, and the opener against Clemson immediately puts that uncertainty on display.
LSU has a new head coach in Lane Kiffin, who arrived after leaving Ole Miss last season before the College Football Playoff. The roster looks nothing like it did a year ago, and the goal is clear: push into SEC title contention. That’s a lot of change to absorb in one offseason, but it also gives the Tigers a fresh look heading into Week 1.
At quarterback, LSU will turn to Sam Leavitt, who started the past two seasons at Arizona State. Last year, he completed 60.7% of his passes for 1,628 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions, and he added 306 rushing yards. Surrounded by more talent in Baton Rouge, he’ll have a chance to take a step forward.
Clemson comes into this matchup in a very different place than the program that once ruled the ACC year after year. The Tigers are no longer that same force, and the article points to Dabo Swinney’s reluctance to fully embrace the transfer portal as a major reason the program has slipped. It also contrasts Clemson’s approach with Curt Cignetti’s strategy at Indiana, where he used the portal to help turn one of the nation’s worst teams into a National Championship program.
The bottom line from the source is straightforward: LSU is volatile, but Clemson is still not a team it trusts against elite competition. Until Clemson changes direction, the skepticism remains.
In Other News...
Clemsons LSU Opener Just Got A Lot More Complicated
LSUs preparations for its opener against Clemson just got a lot messier after a Louisiana judge granted a temporary injunction that allows former NFL preseason players DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris to remain eligible until their legal case is resolved. The ruling keeps both players in the conversation for LSUs roster as the Tigers head into a game that already had plenty of attention attached to it, and it adds another layer to a matchup Clemson was preparing to treat like an early measuring stick.
The SEC has filed a lawsuit against LSU over the schools recruiting of former professional players, and the league now appears poised to push back harder after the injunction. Attorneys for the SEC plan to appeal the ruling, leaving LSU in the middle of a legal fight with the opener looming and a potential roster decision still hanging over one of the biggest games on its schedule. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Faces A Wild Roster Fight Just Before Clemson Opener
A legal ruling this week opened the door for LSU to add more bodies to its roster just as the Tigers are trying to get settled for the season, with former professional athletes DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris now eligible to play after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction. LSU is moving quickly to add Wright and Harris before the deadline, and it is also working to bring Blake Cotton onto the roster as well, a reminder that the personnel battles around college football can be just as intense as anything on the field.
For Clemson, the timing is hard to ignore with the opener looming, because LSU is still sorting through eligibility and roster questions while the SEC has already pushed back hard. The conference has filed a lawsuit against LSU and Lane Kiffin and plans to appeal the ruling, leaving the situation in a legal gray area even as LSU tries to get its lineup in place for the start of the year. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States No. 1 Opener Just Got A Bigger Week 1 Spotlight
The 2026 college football calendar already has plenty of heavy lifting built into it, and Clemson is right in the middle of it. The Week 1 slate features all AP Top 25 teams, but the matchup drawing the sharpest attention on the Tigers side is LSUs season debut against Clemson, part of a full opening weekend that also includes games like Louisville against Ole Miss and a packed broadcast lineup across the sport.
For Clemson, the intrigue is obvious because the opener brings an early measuring stick against a national power and a fresh LSU look under Lane Kiffin. The schedule details are set, the stage is national, and the first Saturday in September now carries even more weight for a Clemson program that will have to answer a big question right away, with the Tigers entering that one in an unexpected role. [Read more 🡒]