LSU's Kelly With High Praise For Clemson Tigers Ahead of Week One Clash

The time has arrived for college football fans all across the country.

The Clemson Tigers sit just four days away from their enormous season opener on Saturday, and LSU head coach Brian Kelly shared some of his thoughts during his weekly press conference on Monday.

Kelly had high praise for the orange and purple Tigers, seeming to admire Clemson’s constant success and displaying respect towards Dabo Swinney and company for the job they’ve done during his tenure thus far.

“Clemson is, obviously, a top-ranked team. Whatever poll you’re looking at, it’s a top-five team. They’ve reached the [College Football Playoff], I know Coach [Swinney] very well. Thirteen seasons with 10 wins – they’re the epitome of consistency at the highest level,” Kelly said to the media on Monday.

Swinney enters his 18th season (17th full season) at the helm as the winnigest coach in program history and the only coach to lead Clemson to multiple national titles. He is also the winningest coach in ACC history, and claimed his eighth ACC title in 10 years in 2024 when the Tigers defeated SMU in Charlotte, N.C. last December.

As Kelly alluded to, the two head coaches aren’t unfamiliar with each other, but rather hold a storied past.

Kelly spent 12 seasons at the helm at Notre Dame from 2010 to 2021 before LSU hired him almost four years ago. The Fighting Irish are independent, meaning they don’t participate in a conference, but they still play five games against ACC opponents each year.

He went 1-3 against Swinney and the Tigers during his tenure in South Bend, the most recent resulting in a 34-10 Clemson victory in 2020 at Bank of America Stadium.

Kelly continued his analysis of Clemson by highlighting the Tigers’ senior quarterback, Cade Klubnik, mentioning how his level of experience and vast improvement in 2024 play a factor in his ability to be an elite weapon under center.

“I think everybody talks about their defensive players in particular, but offensively, Cade Klubnik is a quarterback that played his best ball at the end of [last year], and is a dual-threat,” Kelly said. “Three seasons as a starting quarterback – we’ve made a lot of that in terms of how important it is to come back for a second year. He’s coming back for his third year, which I think says a lot about him.”

Klubnik took massive steps forward in his junior campaign, finishing as one of the most improved quarterbacks in the nation. The senior placed 102nd among all FBS quarterbacks in 2023 with a 63.9 Pro Football Focus passing grade, but managed to elevate his performance to an 87.7 passing grade last season. Klubnik posted 36 touchdowns through the air in 2024, leading to a large wave of preseason excitement surrounding him.

Klubnik currently holds the second-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy at +900, according to FanDuel, sitting only behind Texas sophomore quarterback Arch Manning. He is also projected as the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick in multiple mock drafts.

Kelly also recognized the talented pieces around Klubnik, as well as Clemson’s star-studded defense led by its two-headed monster up front in Peter Woods and T.J. Parker.

“Offensively, I mentioned Cade, who we have a ton of respect for, but (they have) a veteran offensive line coming back, playmakers on the outside – (Antonio Williams) and (Bryant) Wesco Jr. are outstanding receivers,” Kelly said.

“Peter Woods, obviously, (is) a guy that we’re going to have to deal with inside,” Kelly continued. “Parker off the edge is going to require a lot of attention, or they’re going to ruin your day.”

Headlined by Williams and Wesco, Pro Football Focus ranks Clemson’s wide receiving corps as the third-best room in the country. Williams and Wesco were also featured on the official 2025 All-ACC Preseason Team released in July, claiming two of the three wide receiver spots. Accompanied by sophomore and former five-star T.J. Moore, the Tigers have real threats on the outside for Klubnik to utilize in the passing game.

The Clemson defense has also generated an enormous amount of excitement and expectations throughout the offense, and rightfully so. The Tigers are loaded with Woods and Parker on the defensive line and backed up by a strong supporting cast led by cornerback Avieon Terrell. However, they struggled at times last season – a prominent reason why Clemson brought in Tom Allen as its new defensive coordinator to fix those lackluster areas of production.

LSU possesses great talent on the offensive side of the ball, including senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, running back Caden Durham, wide receiver Aaron Anderson, and Kentucky transfer wideout Barion Brown. Both squads of Tigers boast spectacular rosters and could both make a legitimate run for the national championship in 2025.

The battle of “Death Valley” is a top-10 matchup for a reason, and it is apparent when evaluating each squad’s talent level and potential standouts at the next level.

“This is going to be a great challenge – one that we’re excited about, one that we’re up for,” Kelly added. “Any goal that you put out there, it’s not worthwhile unless there’s a challenge, and so this will be a great challenge that our kids are excited about.”