There has been so much buzz surrounding LSU this offseason that, at times, the actual football almost felt secondary.
Former NFL players coming back to college. An SEC lawsuit. A Heisman Trophy winner-issued cease-and-desist letter. One could be forgiven for forgetting there was a football game to be played this week.
New LSU coach Lane Kiffin and the Tigers certainly did not forget.
In the sequel to the “Battle of the Death Valleys,” No. 11 LSU utterly dismantled Clemson, 51-10, Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
“My job is not to please you and worry about what you’re going to write,” Kiffin said of recent controversies. “My job is what I believe is right and I believe we were fighting for what was right for those kids.”
As ugly as that score looks, the actual result was worse.
LSU outgained Clemson 507-73 before beginning to pull its starters in the third quarter. By the time the backups finished the job, the Tigers had amassed 644 yards of offense to Clemson’s 145, with an almost comical 38-8 advantage in first downs. LSU converted 11-of-16 third downs. Clemson went 1-of-13.
In short, this box score is silly.
It reads like what you would expect from an FCS team collecting a paycheck to come to Death Valley.
Except this was no FCS team. This was Clemson, and this was one of college football’s most anticipated games of opening weekend.
Clemson’s only first-half points were set up by LSU’s lone major offensive mistake. Sam Leavitt was intercepted on the second play of the game, giving Clemson the ball deep in LSU territory.
The LSU defense responded by allowing two yards.
Clemson settled for a 49-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
LSU then scored 51 consecutive points.
That included LSU’s defense getting into the end zone itself when edge rusher Jordan Ross stepped in front of a Christopher Vizzina pass and returned the interception 30 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter.
The return gained more yardage than Clemson managed on any single offensive play all night.
That pretty much sums up the evening.
By halftime, LSU led 31-3 and had outgained Clemson 281-53. Clemson had two rushing yards.
And LSU wasn't exactly surviving on short fields or fluky plays.
The Tigers marched 89 yards on 12 plays for their first touchdown. They followed that with scoring drives of 72 and 51 yards before halftime. After the break, LSU went 69 yards for another touchdown and then 66 yards for another.
Kiffin's first LSU offense looked every bit as explosive on the ground as advertised, and quarterback Sam Leavitt was at the center of it.
Leavitt finished 16-of-28 for 230 yards with a touchdown and an interception through the air, while adding 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. His 113 yards tied running back Dilin Jones for the team lead.
Jones was just as productive in his LSU debut, carrying the ball 23 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Together, Leavitt and Jones accounted for 226 yards on the ground.
LSU's leading receiver was Winston Watkins Jr., who hauled in seven passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. His 32-yard touchdown reception from Leavitt in the third quarter pushed LSU's lead to 38-3 and effectively ended any remaining question about the outcome.
There weren't many questions on the other side of the ball, either.
LSU linebacker Whit Weeks led the Tigers with six tackles, while edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen registered a team-high 1.5 sacks. Ross supplied the night's biggest defensive highlight with the aforementioned pick-six.
Clemson did not find the end zone until 3:13 remained in the fourth quarter, long after LSU had emptied the bench. The late score made it 51-10 and prevented the final margin from looking even more absurd than the game actually was.
Even LSU's backups found the end zone. Reserve quarterback Landen Clark connected with Phillip Wright III for a 30-yard touchdown with 6:43 remaining, giving LSU its final points of the night.
For an offseason dominated by questions about lawsuits, eligibility, former NFL players and seemingly everything except football, LSU's first answer on the field was emphatic.
Kiffin's debut was supposed to provide the first glimpse of what his rebuilt LSU roster might look like.
Instead, it provided something closer to a warning.
LSU didn't just beat Clemson.
The Tigers overwhelmed Clemson at the line of scrimmage, ran through it, threw over it and suffocated it defensively. The game was effectively finished before halftime and completely out of reach before Kiffin turned things over to his backups.
After months of noise surrounding LSU football, the Tigers finally got to make some noise of their own.
And for one night, at least, it was deafening.
LSU 51, Clemson 10.
