LSU football had a few things working against them coming into their season opener against Clemson, but they were able to defy the odds. The first thing they were able to do was end their five-game losing streak in openers with a 17-10 victory. The second thing was that they were able to beat Clemson, which many didn't think they could do.
It was the second half that changed everything for LSU, as they shut them out, limiting them to 32 rushing yards.
“You've got to have some grit and you've got to have character, and these kids listened to all the doubters and said, ‘You know what? It doesn't matter,'” head coach Brian Kelly said via ESPN's Mark Schlabach.
LSU's offense had its ups and downs throughout the game, but it showed up at the right time. They had two fumbles in the first half, but they totaled 356 yards of offense and 25 first downs. In the second half, they controlled the clock because of their running game.
Garrett Nussmeier was solid for LSU, completing 28 of his 38 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown.
“To win a game like that, you know it wasn't pretty and we scored 17 points, but coming out here on the road and breaking the losing streak and all of that, it's exciting for our program,” Nussmeier said. “It's huge. It's a momentum booster and a confidence booster.”
Kelly knows that wins like this are important, and they mean a lot when you get down to the stretch of the season and you're fighting to get into the playoffs.
“Listen, these wins are big,” Kelly said. “There's no doubt. There's a boomerang effect, but they had confidence coming into this game. We just need to keep doing what we're doing.”
With this win, it will be interesting to see what LSU can do for the rest of the season, and their next three games are against Louisiana Tech, No. 15 Florida, and FCS program Southeast Louisiana.
