CLEMSON, S.C. — Brian Kelly put everything into this game. He embraced the pressure for LSU to win an opener for the first time in six years. He did it despite the risk, despite how hard it would be to end that streak Saturday with a win at No. 4 Clemson.
And then, despite seeming multiple mistakes, and a halftime deficit, No. 9 LSU pulled it off, beating Clemson 17-10. The streak is over, and Kelly has a validating win, one of the biggest of his four-year LSU tenure.
This offseason, Kelly had Clemson paw prints put all over the LSU facility, from the weight room to hallways. This after LSU lost every season opener since 2020, culminating in last year’s frustrated postgame news conference where Kelly pounded the table after losing to Southern California.
“We’ve made it a specific goal,” Kelly said in July during SEC media days. “I think it was important to have a tangible, specific goal for us to start the season. And I think it’s important our kids want that. They can taste it.”
For a while, though, it looked like the streak would be extended. Clemson scored first and took a 10-3 lead into halftime, after Kelly made the dubious decision to go for it on fourth down from the 13 with 15 seconds left. It failed, but LSU took over in the third quarter: Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier got hot, leading two touchdown drives, while the LSU defense kept making big stops.
