Saturday night in Baton Rouge gives us a clean old-school vs. new-school showdown, with No. 11 LSU and Clemson opening the season under very different kinds of pressure.
Clemson is trying to shake off the weight of a rough stretch and prove it still has enough juice to get Dabo Swinney moving in the right direction again. LSU, meanwhile, has become the sport’s loudest offseason statement, from the Lane Kiffin hire to the transfer-portal haul to the addition of two former NFL players before the opener.
That’s what makes this game feel bigger than a Week 1 matchup. Clemson needs relief. LSU needs proof.
For Swinney, the situation is unfamiliar. Clemson begins the year unranked for the first time since 2011, and that season is the one he’d love to see echoed here.
Back then, he got the program rolling toward two national titles and six straight top-five AP finishes. It also came with a key move: hiring Chad Morris as offensive coordinator.
Now Morris is back on campus again, this time to help lift an offense that has not looked the part in recent years.
The numbers from last season tell the story. Clemson went 7-6, its worst finish since Swinney’s second year in 2010, when his job security was a real question. This time, the concern is less about survival and more about whether the Tigers can rediscover their edge.
LSU enters with a different kind of buzz. Kiffin was pulled away from Ole Miss before the Rebels’ playoff run, then delivered the nation’s top transfer-portal class.
The Tigers added even more noise in August with the two former NFL pros. Talent isn’t the issue.
Fit is.
That’s the biggest thing hanging over LSU heading into kickoff: all of these pieces are new. Sam Leavitt, the Arizona State quarterback Kiffin brought in, headlines the influx, but there’s still the simple question of whether it all clicks right away in Death Valley. Week 1 can expose timing issues fast.
Clemson has its own rebuild on offense, starting with Christopher Vizzina at quarterback. The three-year backup was finally named the starter, and he steps into an attack that needs help from Chad Morris right away.
The Tigers struggled to protect the quarterback and never found an elite receiver last season, so Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore have to be part of the answer if this group is going to move forward.
Up front, Clemson is also starting over. All five starters are gone from last year’s offensive line, though that may not be the disaster it sounds like.
Even with veterans there, Clemson ranked 82nd in pressure rate allowed last season. This new line does include a pair of players who started in the bowl game, but it still has a fresh look.
LSU’s defense, on the other hand, comes in with more continuity. Five starters are back, Blake Baker returns as coordinator, and Whit Wheeks is back at linebacker. The unit is also breaking in new starters, including former Ole Miss All-SEC pass rusher Princewill Umanmielen.
The roster edge belongs to LSU, but this is still a game loaded with new faces on both sides. With Clemson adjusting to a new offense, a new quarterback and a reworked line, and LSU trying to make all of its offseason additions work immediately, the safest read is that points may come harder than the names suggest.
Both defenses should be good enough to keep this one in the 20s.
Pick: Under 50
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