What should have been a perfect day for the Clemson Tigers football team ended in heartbreak. They started their season opener against SEC rivals LSU with a bang, leading 10-3 after the first half. It seemed like Dabo Swinney and his team had conquered their demons and finally beat an SEC team. Alas, it was not meant to be.
With LSU's defense breathing down their necks at all times, Clemson was shut out in the second half. In contrast, the Bayou Tigers ran the rock relentlessly against Clemson. In the end, LSU's two touchdowns in the second half was enough to spoil Swinney's season opener.
Despite the miscues and the general struggles of the team, Swinney still has no doubt that the team will find success this season. The head coach said that his team will need to refocus their attention to Week 2 and fix their mistakes.
“I don't have any doubt,” Swinney said, per USA Today. “I really believe this is going to be one heck of a football team when it's all said and done. Disappointed in the outcome tonight, but the focus will be to just learn and grow from it, and we've got another opportunity next week. A long season ahead so we've got to be resilient, lock in and focus on what we can control and that's learning from this, having a good Monday practice, and try to get on track next week and start getting some W's.”
Heading into Week 1 of the 2025 season, Clemson had lost their last four matchups against SEC. In fact, Clemson has been abysmal against the SEC in general, going 3-8 against SEC teams since their 2019 loss in the College Football Final against LSU. After being ranked #4 in the pre-season, fans were hoping that the Tigers would flip the script this season.
Instead, Clemson squandered multiple opportunities against LSU in the 2025 college football opener. Star quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 50% of his 38 passes for just 231 yards, struggling mightily against LSU's pass rush. His LSU counterpart Garrett Nussmeier had a better passing night (73% on 38 passes), but he ultimately gained the same amount of passing yards (230 yards).
The difference-maker on offense proved to be the ground attacks for each team. Clemson finished with just 31 rushing yards, while LSU had 108 yards on the ground. Caden Durham had 74 of those yards, and added a touchdown run early in the second half to tie the game.
