Lane Kiffin’s first game as LSU’s head coach ended in a rout. The Tigers beat Clemson 51-10 in the 2026 season opener, played Saturday, September 5, 2026, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on ABC, in front of a sellout crowd.
Key facts
- Final score: LSU 51, Clemson 10
- When: Saturday, September 5, 2026 (kickoff delayed by close to two hours due to storms)
- Where: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge — a sellout crowd
- QB debut: Sam Leavitt (Arizona State transfer) — 230 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 113 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs
- Total offense: LSU 644 yards, Clemson 145 yards
- Preseason rankings: LSU No. 11; Clemson opened outside the AP Top 25 for the first time in 15 years, reportedly No. 23 in the Coaches Poll
- Off-field: SEC filed a federal lawsuit against LSU, President Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry and Kiffin on September 3, over recruiting players with prior NFL contracts
Weather delay and game flow
Lightning and heavy thunderstorms moved through the Baton Rouge area shortly before the scheduled kickoff, pushing the start of the game back by close to two hours. Once it began, the outcome was rarely in doubt.
- 1st quarter: LSU led 17-3.
- Halftime: LSU led 31-3, outgaining Clemson 336 yards to 54 through the first two quarters.
- 3rd quarter: LSU’s lead grew to 44-3.
- Final: LSU 51, Clemson 10.
Individual performances
- Sam Leavitt, a transfer from Arizona State making his LSU debut at quarterback, accounted for three touchdowns: he passed for 230 yards and a score on 16-of-28 throwing, with one interception, and ran for 113 yards and two more touchdowns.
- Dilin Jones, a Wisconsin transfer, added two rushing touchdowns of his own.
- Early in the first quarter, Jordan Ross intercepted a pass from Christopher Vizzina, who started at quarterback for Clemson, and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.
- Once LSU’s lead had grown to 44-3, backup quarterback Landen Clark added a 30-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Wright III.
- LSU finished with 644 yards of total offense to Clemson’s 145, according to a recap distributed by Field Level Media.
Swinney’s reaction
Dabo Swinney did not soften his assessment afterward. “We got our (expletive) kicked,” he said, calling it “an embarrassing performance, coaching and players” and adding that “we didn’t do football stuff well enough.” He said Clemson has “a long way to go.” Several recaps described it as the most lopsided loss of Swinney’s 19 seasons leading the program. Clemson had opened the year outside the AP’s preseason Top 25 for the first time in 15 years, even as it was reportedly ranked No. 23 in the preseason Coaches Poll; LSU had entered ranked No. 11.
Tampering allegation
A separate matter attached itself to Kiffin this week: Swinney publicly denied a report, tied to a forthcoming book about Kiffin, that Kiffin had fed him tampering-related information about Ole Miss after Clemson linebacker Luke Ferrelli transferred there. Swinney said Kiffin had reached out to him but that he never acted on anything Kiffin told him. Kiffin has not publicly addressed the allegation.
Kiffin’s comments
Kiffin, previously the head coach at Ole Miss, was more measured but still pointed. “I’m not making huge statements in game one, but I’m just saying that’s the LSU swagger,” he said. “That’s how the stadium is supposed to be. That’s what LSU is supposed to be. That’s why we’re here.” At halftime, with LSU already up 31-3, he made a pointed aside during a live TV interview: “Imagine if we had pro players.”
SEC lawsuit and the roster decision
The line was an apparent reference to a fight playing out off the field.
- Filed: September 3, 2026 — two days before the game — as a federal lawsuit in Alabama.
- Named defendants: LSU’s Board of Supervisors, President Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry, and Kiffin.
- Allegation: a “deliberate and coordinated campaign” to recruit players with prior NFL contracts who had sued for an extra season of college eligibility after a June 2026 change to NCAA eligibility rules.
- Players involved: former Cleveland Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright and former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Zxavian Harris — both had already won a court injunction protecting them from NCAA and conference punishment, but Kiffin left both off the roster for the Clemson game anyway. Outkick and Yahoo Sports have both linked the decision to concern over penalty exposure while the SEC’s lawsuit remained pending.
Asked about the roster call postgame, Kiffin tied it directly to the result. “If we would have won close or ugly, the whole story would have been I screwed the whole team up,” he said. “My job is what I believe is right — and I believe we were fighting for what is right for those kids.” Referencing LSU’s own scout-team scrimmage from the week before, he also needled Clemson over the margin: “Our mock team scored more points against us than them but, it was about the same score.”
What happens next
For now, the SEC’s lawsuit remains pending, and LSU has not put Wright or Harris on the field. Kiffin’s debut, at least, is finished business — and a decisive one.