Baton Rouge, LA.- As the sold-out stadium began to fill in with the clouds looming over Tiger Stadium, it became apparent that the once 6:30 kickoff was a thing of the past.
With the torrential rain finally coming to a halt, the once-empty stadium was back to a sold-out crowd, making the anticipation almost unbearable. Something about a rainy day in the stadium that never rains feels like the calm before the storm that has been building all week. The eye of the storm was now over Death Valley, and this was only ending in the best victory or one long road for the Tigers.
After a long day in court on Thursday for two former NFL players and a successful win, the Tigers now had three spots open. The two-hour delay didn’t seem to stop any of these fans it only seemed to grow the noise as the fullest Tiger Stadium has looked since Brian Kelly ran the program down.
Captains taking the field, and LSU getting to receive the ball with kickoff just seconds away from starting the energy was brewing. Not lasting long, Clemson took possession of the ball and put some pressure on the Tigers that soon turned to diamond within just a few minutes.
“Imagine if we had pro players,” said head coach Lane Kiffin in an interview with ESPN at half time. Some may argue LSU does with the allowance of three former pro players, but with this complete team that has a type of chemistry not seen since the 2019 National Championship team this bit of sarcasm almost enhances how confident Kiffin really is.
Forces that just can’t be stopped is what the entire LSU team looked like, not only an explosive and complete offense. But a defense that is completely resilient in anything that Clemson throws at them.
With an interception touchdown from transfer Jordan Ross, watching what looked like a dog fight became a wide gap.
LSU seemed to not only be winning with a score of 24-3 going into the half, but like Lane Kiffin had discussed earlier in the week, wanted his team to win mentally and it seemed to be happening.
With not only a complete team, one player in particular during the first half Dillin Jones the transfer from Wisconsin made some loud disruption in the chaos of this wide open game.
113 rushing yards, two touchdowns and one outstanding opening game as a Tiger the sophomore running back made sure this LSU fan base knew who he was.
A team that looked not only sharp but like they had been playing together for years had led by 49 points was finally coming to a close.
With just four minutes remaining in this show stopping season opener, Clemson was able to add a mere seven to the board to close the final minutes.
Victorious, not only on the field with numbers but off the field mentally. 51-10 a score that gave a once hopeless fan base something to realize was going to be something different in the air.
At the helm of this team Kiffin, although optimistic about a team win, emphasized the little things that LSU will immediately go back to the drawing board on.
“Really good job there, good for our players to get the 1-0,” Kiffin said. “Still a lot of things to work on, but I’m happy for our fans, our university and the leadership.”
Heading into another week of football at home in front of 102,321 faithful fans against Louisiana Tech Saturday Sept. 12 the true test of small changes will be seen.
But for now the Bayou Bengals walk away with confidence restored starting at 1-0.
Cover Photo Credits: Luke Ray, NewEraPrep
