One of the biggest games of Week 1 for the 2025 college football season was between LSU and Clemson. The game was highly physical, but the LSU football team pulled out the big win on the road to make a season-opening statement win in one of the more difficult college football environments. Dabo Swinney said they made more plays in a sloppy game, while Brian Kelly returned with a vengeance.
Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney's overall point on the game is that LSU made a few more plays than Clemson could, despite both struggling. He compared it to them getting a 65 to Clemson's 58 on a test. Well, LSU head coach Brian Kelly got wind of that and said that he doesn't think Swinney saw the second half then because he said LSU dominated that half after the game settled down for both teams.
“It was a hell of a game. It was a hell of a game. Down to the last play, right out of the gate,” Swinney said at his press conference this morning. “It’s like getting a final exam, day one of class. They made a 65. We made a 58. Neither one of us was great.”
“Well, I thought we dominated them in the second half. So, he’s either an outstanding grader for, you know, giving himself a 58, or he’s a really hard grader on us, or he didn’t see the second half, which that might be the case,” Kelly has since responded. “He might not have wanted to see the second half.
“So, I don’t know if he’s a hard or easy grader, but I like how we played in the second half.”
This was a massive win for LSU because it was also the first win by LSU in a season opener since their national title-winning season in 2019. They had lost their previous five before beating Clemson this past Saturday.
LSU football returned from a messy first half to tie and take the lead in the second half by shutting down Clemson during that entire half of football.
The big standouts were Garrett Nussmeier and Caden Durham, who went 28-38 for 232 yards and a touchdown and 17 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown, respectively. However, the biggest storyline was that LSU finally has a defense again.
“Look, this is all, like, you know, past. We’re much more focused on Louisiana Tech, to be quite honest with you,” said Kelly. “Clemson is a darn good football team. I mean, that’s a great, top-notch team, and they’re going to be a team in the hunt for the playoff picture, and we hope we are too.”
