In a Death Valley showdown of Tigers, LSU (1-0) finally ended its five-year season-opening drought with a gritty 17-10 win over Clemson on Saturday night.
“This was never the goal,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “It’s nice to beat Clemson. But our goal is a national championship.”
For much of the night, though, it looked like LSU might stumble again. Despite outgaining Clemson 177-110 in the first half, the Bayou Bengals trailed 10-3 at the break after Kelly’s gamble to go for it on 4th-and-2 inside the 10-yard line came up empty.
The frustration only deepened early in the second half when Garrett Nussmeier’s highlight-reel strike to Barion Brown was wiped off the board after review.
But with 8:59 left in the third quarter, the momentum flipped. Freshman back Caden Durham powered across the goal line to cap a bruising 69-yard drive, tying the game at 10. Durham finished with 74 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, pacing LSU’s ground attack.
The knockout blow came midway through the fourth. On third-and-goal, Nussmeier rolled right and zipped an 8-yard strike to Trey’Dez Green, giving LSU its first lead of the night - and one it would never give back.
Nussmeier wasn’t flashy, but he was efficient, going 28-of-38 for 230 yards and a touchdown without a turnover. Aaron Anderson proved his go-to weapon, hauling in six catches for 99 yards.
From there, LSU’s much-maligned defense delivered the exclamation point. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik drove into the red zone in the closing minutes, but the Tigers slammed the door with a fourth-down stop to seal the win.
When the dust settled, LSU outgained the other Tigers 345-261 and held Clemson (0-1) scoreless in the second half.
