BATON ROUGE — Not even a rain-lightning delay could spoil Lane Kiffin’s debut in Death Valley.
It may have taken a little while due to the severe weather and an opening-drive turnover, but LSU put on a dominant performance inside Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. No. 11 LSU’s defense dismantled visiting Clemson, the long-absent running game was firing on all cylinders, and the gold and purple Tigers dominated the visiting Tigers 51-10.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
LSU started the opening drive with Sam Leavitt finding Eugene Wilson III for an eight-yard gain, but the very next play Leavitt threw it to Malik Elzy, and it went through his hands and was picked off by Clemson’s Ashton Hampton.
LSU’s defense stood tall, holding Clemson to two yards, but the orange-clad Tigers did get points as Nolan Hauser made the 49-yard field goal. LSU’s offense would take to the field and this time went 59 yards, but the drive stalled. The home Tigers had to settle for a 49-yard field goal by Arkansas transfer Scott Starzyk.
After forcing Clemson to punt, LSU’s offense would find the end zone on its third possession as the Tigers went 89 yards on 12 plays, as running back Dilin Jones did most of the heavy lifting. The Wisconsin running back had six carries for 45 yards, including capping the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
LSU then got on the scoreboard with its defense as Jordan Ross picked off Christopher Vizzina across the middle and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.
After missing a field goal on its next possession, LSU found the end zone again. The Tigers produced a nine-play, 72-yard touchdown drive. Levitt hit Winston Watkins Jr. for a 20-yard reception, then later found Trey’Dez Green for an 18-yard gain, scrambled for 18 yards, and then finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.
LSU added another touchdown before half as Leavitt scrambled and ran it from 13 yards and dove into the end zone.
LSU would score on their opening possession of the second half as Leavitt found Watkins Jr. for a 32-yard touchdown, and then scored on its following possession with a 12-yard touchdown run by Jones.
LSU added another touchdown in the fourth when backup quarterback Landen Clark found Phillip Wright III for a 30-yard touchdown. Clemson finally found the end zone with an 11-yard touchdown run by David Eziomume with less than four minutes left in the game.
BIG NUMBER I: 309
LSU put up 309 rushing yards for the game. LSU didn’t have a single game over 200 rushing yards during the 2025 season, and it had not reached 200 rushing yards in 21 consecutive games. The last 200-plus rushing performance was against South Alabama (237) in 2024. The 291 rushing yards were also the most rushing yards in a game since LSU put up 329 against Florida during the 2023 season.
BIG NUMBER II: 8:40
Due to the severe thunderstorms that soaked Death Valley and produced multiple lightning strikes, Saturday’s season opener was delayed by more than two hours. LSU officials announced that the 8:40 kickoff time is believed to be the latest start time in Tiger Stadium history.
BIG NUMBER III: 8
Clemson’s offense managed only eight first downs in Saturday’s contest against LSU. That was the fewest number of first downs for Clemson since having only four in a 10-7 loss to LSU in the 1996 Peach Bowl.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: DILIN JONES, JORDAN ROSS & SAM LEAVITT
LSU had a trio of playmakers step up in a big way in Saturday night’s victory. Jones, the Wisconsin transfer, had 113 yards on 23 carries and two rushing scores. Ross anchored a defense that suffocated Clemson as he had four tackles, 2 TFL, and one interception return for a score. Leavitt, the Arizona State transfer, overcame an early turnover to complete 16-of-28 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for 113 yards on 12 carries and two rushing scores.
UP NEXT: LSU (1-0) returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Louisiana Tech (1-0). Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., and you can listen to all the action on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.