LSU and Clemson are both trying to reestablish their national relevance as they meet Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La., for the season opener.
This is the second consecutive season that these two Tigers teams have met in the season opener. LSU was ranked No. 9 when it defeated No. 4 Clemson 17-10 last August in Clemson, S.C.
This time around, LSU is ranked No. 11, and Clemson is unranked entering the season for the first time since 2011. But last season showed how different preseason and postseason rankings can be. Both LSU and Clemson finished 7-6 and unranked.
“This is a really challenging opener,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said. “This is not a game you can kind of (think) well, we’ll just try these things out with players and see how this freshman looks. This is a big-time matchup on the national stage.”
Since hiring Kiffin away from SEC rival Ole Miss late last season, LSU has generated far more buzz than most teams in the country, and Kiffin duplicated the transfer portal success he had with the Rebels in his first class in Baton Rouge — the highest-ranked in the country, according to 247Sports.
Former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt is the highest-profile transfer, but it’s the defense that might have to keep the ship steady early on. Kiffin retained Blake Baker, who served as Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator, providing significant continuity to a unit that ranked fifth in the SEC in scoring defense, sixth in pass defense and total defense, and seventh in run defense last season.
The offense, which Kiffin will oversee alongside Charlie Weis Jr., ranked last in total offense and rush offense, 14th in scoring, and 10th in passing.
“I think that Sam has had a great camp and I’m usually pretty hard on the (evaluations) of anyone,” Kiffin said. “I can’t imagine it going much better for him.”
Clemson had nine players selected in the NFL draft, including quarterback Cade Klubnik. His replacement, Christopher Vizzina, is entering his fourth season with the program.
“He doesn’t have to be a superhero,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of Vizzina, who has one career start. “We just need him to do his job within the system.”
Swinney brought back Chad Morris for his third stint with the program, his second as offensive coordinator. Morris will be looking for more balance than last season, when Clemson ranked 11th in the ACC in scoring and rushing, sixth in passing and eighth in total offense.
The defense ranked third against the run, tied for third in scoring, eighth in yards allowed per game and 11th in pass defense.
Swinney dismissed the lower-than-usual expectations for his unranked team.
“Nobody is going to overlook Clemson,” he said. “We’ve won too many games, we’ve won too many championships for people to overlook Clemson. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot every single week.”
