LSU didn’t just beat Clemson on Saturday night. The Tigers blew the doors off the opener, rolling to a 51-10 win in a sold-out Tiger Stadium and forcing the college football world to take a hard look at what happened in Baton Rouge.
For a program that spent the last couple of weeks under a cloud of criticism for its attempt to roster ex-NFL players, the performance was as loud a response as possible. LSU controlled Dabo Swinney’s Tigers from start to finish, taking over after an early miscue and never letting Clemson back into the game.
“Good to get to 1-0,” Kiffin said following the win. “I think that was a really good job by our players, with all the questions about how would they be with what most people think are distractions.
They did a great job. I mean, you come out against a quality ACC team, screw up the first series and give them the ball and give three points and you go on a 51-0 run after that.
The numbers behind the rout matched the eye test. LSU piled up 644 total yards, its first 600-yard outing since Nov. 11, 2023, against Florida. The Tigers also set a program record with 38 first downs.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt made a strong LSU debut, throwing for 230 yards with a touchdown and an interception while adding 113 rushing yards and two scores on 12 carries.
Even with the statement win fresh in the rearview mirror, Kiffin is already pushing his team toward Week 2. LSU hosts Louisiana Tech next, and the message inside the program is about locking in quickly.
“Obviously, we've had meetings already today and discussed that that what you do the week before, whether that's good or bad, has nothing to do with what you're going to do the next week,” Kiffin said Monday.
“You need to practice the way that we do, prepare the way that we do, and I challenge them too. Now you have one week.
We took two weeks to prepare as far as practicing for Clemson. Now you have one week this week, so you're not going to have near as much time.
Your focus has to be elite.”
The national reaction has been strong enough that some analysts already pushed LSU to the very top of the sport. Robert Griffin III went that far on Saturday night, calling the Tigers the No. 1 team in the country after the Clemson win.
The new AP Top-25 Poll didn’t go quite that far, but LSU still got a major bump. The Tigers landed at No. 8, up three spots from where they started, which was the biggest jump of any team in the nation. LSU also picked up five first-place votes, the third-most in the poll.
Ohio State sits at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and Indiana. Oregon checks in at No.
6, Miami at No. 7, and LSU at No. 8.
Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Alabama round out the next group.
If LSU takes care of Louisiana Tech, the Tigers could have another chance to climb when the next poll drops.
In Other News...
Mike Elko Just Twisted The Knife In LSUs SEC Drama
LSUs recent flirtation with adding former NFL players DaeQuan Weight and Zxavian Harris turned into a full-on conference headache after the pair received injunctions from the state of Louisiana to play. The SEC answered with a federal suit against LSU and Lane Kiffin, and the possibility of punishment even included talk of expulsion before LSU backed away and chose not to add the players.
From Texas A&M, Mike Elko didnt let the moment pass quietly. He framed the whole mess in the language of a disciplinary showdown, likening it to a parent dealing with a child, a comparison that only added more heat to a situation that was already making LSU a central figure in SEC tension. For a league that thrives on conflict, this was the kind of comment that kept the story humming even after the immediate roster decision was made. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs SEC Clash Just Took A Strange New Turn
The SECs latest headache around LSU has had plenty of moving parts, and Lane Kiffins program has been right in the middle of it. After the school added NFL players to its roster under a temporary restraining order that gave certain athletes an extra year of eligibility, the conference reacted strongly enough to raise the possibility of taking LSU out of the league altogether over concerns about institutional control.
Now the temperature appears to be coming down. The SEC has backed off its vote, and the leagues debate has shifted from punishment to patience. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko even framed the whole episode like a parent handing down discipline before everyone calms down, which at least suggests the confrontation is moving toward resolution, even if the full fallout is still being sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Roster Decision Just Escalated Into A Bigger SEC Fight
LSUs 2026 roster picture already had a strange wrinkle, and now it has turned into something bigger than a simple personnel note. Commitments DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris, both former Ole Miss players, were left off the Tigers 2026 roster after SEC commissioner Greg Sankeys demands landed in the middle of an ongoing eligibility dispute that has been working its way through the courts.
Wright and Harris are part of a lawsuit challenging NCAA eligibility rule changes, and they have already been granted a preliminary injunction that allows them to play in 2026. Their legal representatives have signaled that more action could follow against both the NCAA and the SEC, including the possibility of monetary damages tied to the conferences enforcement moves, which keeps LSU in the crosshairs of a fight that is still far from settled. [Read more 🡒]