Clemson’s season opened with a thud, and the reaction hasn’t been any kinder than the final score.
The Tigers were flattened by LSU, 51-10, in a game they entered hoping to spring an upset and instead spent the afternoon getting overwhelmed. The loss left Dabo Swinney facing an uneasy quarterback situation, with the head coach unsure whom to start next Saturday against Georgia Southern.
That performance also drew a sharp response from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who unloaded on Clemson during Monday’s edition of “First Take.”
“It’s the kind of beatdown where the Clemson football team, they actually should be given the week off from class, just so they don’t have to show their face to other students on campus,” Smith said. “They should actually be confined to football facilities and bring the food to them.
Uber Eats and all of that, bring it right there. Don’t let them out because they shouldn’t want to show their face to anybody, not just on campus, but in the state of South Carolina.”
Smith’s comments captured just how ugly the loss looked from the outside. Clemson was never close to making it a game, and now the focus shifts to getting the Tigers sorted out before their home opener.
Georgia Southern comes to Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network. Clemson will be expected to win comfortably, but the bigger issue is what the Tigers do with a long week of practice after a disastrous first showing on both sides of the ball.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Had Tiger Stadium Tailgate Chaos Everyone Will Be Talking About
The night around Tiger Stadium had plenty going on before LSU even kicked off against Clemson, but one ugly moment at a tailgate ended up overshadowing part of the pregame scene. Kick creator Snarp was punched in the face by an LSU fan during the chaos, and the incident reportedly left him with a broken jaw, turning what should have been a spirited season-opener atmosphere into something far more troubling.
Once the game started, the Tigers gave their supporters plenty to cheer about with a 51-10 rout of Clemson, piling up more than 600 yards while the defense held Clemson to 145. Still, the lopsided win did not erase the uneasy conversation that came out of the parking lots and tailgate spaces around the stadium, where the focus had already shifted from football to how quickly a festive scene can turn into a mess. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs SEC Fight Just Turned Into A Threat Tigers Cant Ignore
The SECs latest federal filing has pushed LSU into a spot no program wants to occupy, turning an eligibility fight into a full-blown conference threat. The league is now seeking legal authority to expel the Tigers over alleged violations of SEC rules that bar professional athletes from returning to college sports, and the update points directly to the ongoing effort to roster players the conference classifies as former pros.
At the center of the dispute are LSU players DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris, whose eligibility has become the flashpoint as the conference continues to press its case. The filing also references a special league meeting in which potential termination was discussed, a sign that this is no longer just an administrative issue but a matter with real stakes for LSUs place in the SEC structure. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffins Leaked Clemson Speech Has LSU Fans Debating Everything
A video purporting to show LSU football coach Lane Kiffin delivering a profane halftime speech during the Tigers' game against Clemson has been making the rounds online, and it has quickly become the kind of clip that can dominate a fan base's group chats long after the final whistle. The footage has been met with a split reaction, with some viewers convinced it is authentic and others arguing it could be an imitation, which has only added to the noise around a team already under intense scrutiny.
A source familiar with Kiffin says the speech is real and may even have been leaked on purpose, a detail that has only deepened the debate over why it surfaced now and what it says about the situation behind the scenes. For LSU fans, the bigger issue is less the clip itself than the uncertainty around it, because the conversation has moved well beyond a viral video and into questions about trust, timing and who wanted this version of events to become public. [Read more 🡒]