The Good, Bad and Ugly of LSU's Blowout Win Over Clemson

LSU silenced the skeptics on Saturday night in Death Valley when head coach Lane Kiffin and his rag-tag band of college football renegades systematically dismantled Clemson in a 51-10 beat down.

“Everybody hates you. They can’t hate you that much more.” said Kiffin following the win.

While you might expect LSU to be in the news during game week, the Tigers national spotlight instead centered around their heated legal battle with the Southeastern Conference following their recent rule change, prohibiting professional players from returning to college.

Despite the grueling legal gauntlet and national scrutiny faced on Thursday, Kiffin insisted it would not be a distraction for his team. Though long time critic of Kiffin, Paul Finebaum, had his own thoughts on the matter.

“We can all wrap our arms around Lane Kiffin and say he’s lovable and he’s a great coach," Finebaum said. "But in the end, he’s a child. He’s a 51-year-old man behaving like a 16-year-old".

As the saying goes, "Ball don't lie," and it certainly did not on Saturday night in Death Valley.

Despite the rain, lightning and two hour delay, the LSU faithful packed into Tiger Stadium and were as loud as some fans have ever heard it. The seismograph on LSU's campus recorded the moment Lane Kiffin's portrait came across the video boards and was officially introduced as the Tiger head coach.

We love seeing the Tigers shake things up again! Here's a reading from the campus seismograph! pic.twitter.com/dcNkbBuFFM
— LSU (@LSU) September 6, 2026

ESPN's Holly Rowe recorded a peak 129 decibel reading, stating "The loudest football game I have personally recorded was 120.0 decibels. Death Valley tonight. 129 Unprecedented in my experience tracking."

The loudest football game I have personally recorded was 120.0 decibels.
Death Valley tonight. 129
Unprecedented in my experience tracking. pic.twitter.com/aNm0KRJF9h
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) September 6, 2026

LSU would go for nearly 650 yards offensively, scoring 51 points with five different players reaching the end zone. Sam Leavitt, the formely injured Arizona State transfer, shut down any rumors that his Lisfranc injury would inhibit his ability to perform, rushing for two touchdowns and over 110 yards.

Blake Baker's defense, lead by Linebacker Whit Weeks, also showed out by holding Clemson to 145 total yards of offense, and just 10 points, a field goal that happened due to a Leavitt interception on the second play of the game, and a touch down in 'garbage time' against LSU's back up defense, with under fiveminutes to play in the 4th quarter.

Following LSU's dominant win over the Clemson Tigers, Finebaum had change of tune, stating Sunday morning “I came away [from the game] thinking LSU is now a national championship contender, because they looked every bit the part.”

As the Tigers hosted ESPN's "College Gameday" on campus, it was yet another factor on top of the external noise of this game. A home opener for the first time in recent history, Kiffin's first game as head coach, 53 new players, a Clemson team looking for revenge, and just for some extra juice, a more than two hour lightning delay, delaying a 6:30 PM kick to a 8:40 PM.

Kiffin, the self described 'ultimate competitor' even used it to his perceived advantage, having coached the visiting team inside LSU's Death Valley in the past, saying “That [visitor] locker room sucks over there. The longer you sit in there... [the better it is for LSU]"

Despite all the potential distractions, noise, and drama surrouding Kiffin's Ole Miss departure, his statements regarding his focus, and recognition of his responsiblities rang true Satuday night as his Tigers imposed thier will against their opponent, I'm here to break down the good, bad and the ugly.

The Good: LSU Running Game

Sam Leavitt rushing — Tigers Quarterback Sam Leavitt 10, , LSU Tigers take on the Clemson Tigers. September 5, 2026; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Under former Head Coach Brian Kelly, the Tigers struggled to run the ball. In his final season, his team was only averaging about 106 rushing yards a game in the time before he was fired by-then Athletic Director Scott Woodward. More importantly, his teams were not physical, and struggled to convert in the red zone.

Last night was a breath of fresh air for LSU fans, as the Bengal Tigers rushed for 309 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns, two by Quarterback Sam Leavitt, and two by Wisconsin transfer Running Back Dillin Jones. The shift marked a significant increase (about 95%) from Kelly's tenure, and also went 4/4 scoring in the red zone.

Maybe more importantly than that was the strength of the offensive line, Weston Davis, Bo Bordelon and Jordon Seaton all looked great, controlled the trenches and imposed their will on the Clemson Defensive Line, leading to the quadruple rushing touchdowns, and a program record 38 first downs in a single game.

The Bad: LSU Backup Defense

Tigers Linebacker Whit Weeks 7, LSU Tigers take on the Clemson Tigers. September 5, 2026; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It was honestly not easy to find something that was truly "bad" from LSU in last nights game. Of course there was mistakes, miscues and minor setbacks, but the one thing that fit the bill was LSU's second-string defense.

The LSU substitutes entered the game in the dwindling minutes of LSU's victory, giving starters all across the defense some early rest, and opened an opportunity for some young guys to go and make a name for themselves.

Instead, a unit that held Clemson to three first downs in the first three whole quarters gave up a lone touchdown that, while have little to no impact on the game, showcased that there is a measurable gap in talent between the starting defense and their backups.

"There’s going to come games that those guys got to go into games, and they’re going to have to stop them. One player is going to be in there as a backup, and they got to stop them to make a critical stop to win the game. So you can’t think differently," said Kiffin.

The Tigers in orange would go 71 yards in 3:23 to reach the endzone for the first and only time of the entire game, cutting LSU's lead to 41, in a now 51-10 game.

“I was not this positive with them in there as I am with you guys, but I told them, ‘Hey, the backups on defense did not perform to our standard, and they let them go down and score," Kiffin commented in reference to what he told his players in the locker room.

The Tigers play Louisiana Tech in Week 2, a game in which LSU should easily handle its business, meaning that some of those guys will get another chance to see the field, learn and grow.

The Ugly: Clemson's Trenches

Bold blocking scheme there on a 3rd down pic.twitter.com/nUsNrm4kkL
— Football (@BostonConnr) September 6, 2026

The video above pretty much sums up all that needs to be said but, Clemson in the trenches, was absolutely atrocious. There simply is not another way to accurately describe it.

The offensive line was being questioned before the game, but those questions have been answered now. They are young, inexperienced and looked completely lost at times.

Despite the early interception (that was primarily a case of a bad tip and lucky positioning), Clemson and its (formerly) highly touted defensive line put almost no pressure on LSU's offense at all. In the rare times a player got loose, they were no match for Leavitt's legs, and added to the embarrasment for Swinney's squad.

This Clemson group has a lot to work on this week, but heart isn't one of them, Clemson Linebacker Sammy Brown said following the loss that "I think it will develop us as men".

Brown does not want this loss to define his Tigers season like he claim it did last year.

You can listen to his full remarks here:

Clemson LB Sammy Brown says mental toughness is the key to not letting the LSU loss "define" the Tigers like last year's losses did.

"I think it will develop us as men." pic.twitter.com/thDoOLss5Z
— Caroline Soro (@caroline_soro) September 6, 2026

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