Fans packed Tiger Stadium Saturday night believing LSU would beat Clemson.
Almost nobody in that crowd walked in guessing the final score would read 51-10.
That’s the real story behind Lane Kiffin’s first win as the Tigers’ head coach.
Storms in the area shoved the opening kickoff back well past its original start time, testing everyone’s patience before the ball was even snapped.
Once the game finally got going the wait didn’t matter much because LSU flipped the mood of the night almost immediately.
Things didn’t start smoothly. LSU’s very first offensive series ended with a turnover, and Clemson cashed it in for an early field goal.
That put the Tigers behind 3-0 and for a few minutes it looked like a tight, nervy season opener.
That feeling didn’t last. Quarterback Sam Leavitt found his rhythm within minutes and LSU reeled off 17 straight points before the first quarter wrapped up, piling up 140 yards in that opening stretch alone.
The offense kept rolling before halftime, tacking on 14 more points behind 196 additional yards and pushing the score to 31-3 at the break.
LSU’s defense matched that intensity right away too. Clemson managed only 54 yards of total offense in the first half and actually lost four yards on the ground during that stretch.
By the time both teams walked off for the half, LSU had forced Clemson to punt six times and gotten to the quarterback twice.
The lead only kept growing
Coming out of halftime with a 28-point cushion Kiffin’s team didn’t let up.
LSU crossed the goal line twice more in the third quarter, coming up short on a two-point try, and piled up another 171 yards through the air and on the ground.
Clemson’s offense barely moved during that stretch, finishing the period with only 19 yards to show for it, and LSU’s defense added a pair of sacks along with three more punts forced.
Clemson’s night got even harder to watch once LSU’s defense settled in.
Both Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds spent the evening running for their lives behind Clemson’s line, and LSU’s rush ended the night with four sacks to show for it.
Clemson moved the chains on third down exactly once all night, a number that tells you almost everything about how one-sided this one became.
Jordan Ross added a pick-six in the first half that widened the gap even further and gave the crowd another reason to relax early.
Once the fourth quarter arrived Kiffin cleared his bench and let the reserves handle the rest.
LSU still found the end zone once more before Clemson got on the scoreboard for the only time all night, crossing with the clock ticking under the four-minute mark.
That score didn’t change much of anything at that point. LSU finished with north of 600 total yards while holding Clemson to only 145.
Leavitt’s legs and a new lead back stood out
Leavitt didn’t have a clean night through the air, and a handful of his throws lacked precision, something he’ll need to sharpen as conference play approaches. His legs made up for it in a big way.
He broke off 113 yards on the ground and crossed the goal line twice himself, showing off the kind of athleticism that could give opposing defenses real problems all year.
Running back Dilin Jones gave LSU fans something they’d been asking for since last season, when no team in the conference struggled to run the ball more than the Tigers did.
The Wisconsin transfer looked like the clear starter from the jump, muscling through arm tackles for extra yardage.
By the time the night was over Jones had piled up 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 totes, while Harlem Berry and Caden Durham picked up their touches once the outcome was already decided.
Blake Baker’s defense deserves plenty of credit too.
Even with a good bit of roster turnover on that side of the ball the group played with poise and physicality from the opening whistle, and that kind of performance against a ranked opponent is hard to fake.
LSU wasn’t just supposed to win in a blowout Saturday. It was supposed to be close.
Instead Kiffin’s debut turned into a night Tiger fans will bring up all season. Probably one that even Kiffin himself didn’t see coming in quite this shape.
