Lane Kiffin didn’t waste much time making his mark at LSU, and neither did his team. In a 51-10 blowout of Clemson, the Tigers put the game away early, then came out of the locker room looking like they had something to prove.
LSU was already ahead 31-3 at halftime after shaking off an early interception that briefly gave Clemson its only lead. But a leaked locker-room video that surfaced Monday, Sept. 7, suggested Kiffin was far from satisfied with the margin.
“Do you feel good about what happened? Who gives a f-k what happened?”
Kiffin said in the video, shared by content creator KentSports24 on X. “That’s what’s supposed to happen.
Ain’t no f-king celebrations for that.”
He made it clear the work, in his view, had started long before kickoff. “We asked you to work really hard. We asked you to come back to work again and again and again,” he said.
From there, the message shifted to the second half. “We’ve got to show them again,” Kiffin said. “It doesn’t matter what plays they run, it doesn’t matter what they do on offense.”
Kiffin kept pressing the point. “They’re f-king soft.
… You send them a f-king message of who’s on their schedule! They have to play you.
And don’t think we’re letting up late.”
The scoreboard backed up the tone. LSU tacked on 20 more points after halftime and kept Clemson from mounting anything close to a comeback. The Tigers rolled up 644 total yards, with 309 on the ground and 335 through the air.
Sam Leavitt powered the offense with 230 passing yards, one touchdown and 113 rushing yards. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, while Dilin Jones added 113 rushing yards and two scores of his own.
The defense did its part too, finishing with four sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Clemson was held to 145 total yards and went just 1-for-13 on third downs.
If the speech was Kiffin’s - as the video suggests - it offered an immediate glimpse at how he wants LSU to operate. Dominance, in that room, wasn’t supposed to be a celebration. It was supposed to be the standard.
In Other News...
James Franklin Knows Exactly What Virginia Tech Is Up Against
James Franklin enters this matchup with a clear sense of the challenge ahead, and not just because Virginia Tech is trying to set a tone early. Franklin knows Old Dominion well through his close personal and professional relationship with Monarchs coach Ricky Rahne, a connection that goes back to Franklins time away from Penn State, when he visited Old Dominions sideline after being fired. Now he is preparing to face a coach he respects in a setting where familiarity only raises the level of urgency.
Franklin acknowledged Rahnes success at Old Dominion and the confidence the Monarchs will bring into the game, which only sharpens the stakes for Virginia Tech. It also adds an unusual layer to an already meaningful meeting, with the two coaches set to stand on opposite sidelines and each knowing the others background, habits and expectations. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Techs Blowout Just Changed How The Rest Of The Schedule Looks
Virginia Tech opened the season with a rout of VMI that did more than fill up the scoreboard. The Hokies used the opener to make an early statement, and the result has reshaped the way the rest of their schedule looks from here. With Old Dominion next on the docket, the conversation around this team has already shifted from simply getting through September to how quickly a strong start can build.
ESPNs Football Power Index took notice, too, and the projections now look more favorable for Virginia Tech in the weeks ahead. There are still plenty of tests to navigate, and the margin for error will tighten once the schedule gets deeper, but the early read is clear enough: this kind of performance changes expectations, both inside the building and in the way the next few opponents are viewed. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech's Bowl Outlook Just Got A Lot More Complicated
Virginia Techs bowl picture is still very much in flux, and the range of national projections tells the story. Different outlets have the Hokies headed to different postseason destinations, a reflection of how hard it is to pin down this teams ceiling under new head coach James Franklin. The uncertainty is part of the appeal at this point, especially with the season still offering enough swing game potential to move the conversation in a hurry.
Recent results and Franklins track record have kept the Hokies in the mix, but not settled anywhere just yet. The broader read is that Virginia Tech has enough talent and coaching structure to stay bowl-bound, though the exact landing spot remains one of the more interesting unresolved questions around the program as the year unfolds. [Read more 🡒]