At his press conference on Tuesday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave the LSU Tigers an interesting assessment of their performance on Saturday. LSU went on the road to defeat Swinney's fourth-ranked Tigers by score of 17-10 thanks to a dominating defensive effort. But Swinney isn't handing too much praise to LSU.
"It's like getting a final exam on day one of class. They made a 65, we made a 58. Neither one of us we're great.Dabo Swinney
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Swinney's poor assessment of LSU is making waves on social media, and LSU fans aren't having it. Brian Kelly got word on Swinney's remarks, and he has responded in the perfect way.
"Or he didn't see the second half. Which that might be the case, he might not have wanted to see the second half." @LSUfootball Brian Kelly zings @ClemsonFB head coach Dabo Swinney and his grading scale.
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) September 2, 2025
"I thought we dominated them in the second half." #LSU pic.twitter.com/VHDDPVoSIw
LSU fans love this kind of energy
What a perfect response. This is the type of energy that LSU fans love. The Tigers made a statement with a massive win on Saturday night, and Kelly keeps the hits coming at the podium. Kelly hasn't been the most adored coach in the country during his time in Baton Rouge, but his zing of Swinney's tone-deaf comments has LSU fans fired up. Kelly's approval rating is shooting up, and this kind of attitude is fully embraced by the LSU faithful.
In their impressive win on Saturday, LSU out-gained Clemson 354-261, controlled time of possession 37:10-22:50, and held Clemson to a lowly 3-for-13 mark on third down. LSU's revamped defense held Clemson to just 31 rushing yards and a measly 1.6 yards per carry. Potential top-10 pick Cade Klubnik completed just 50 percent of his passes with an interception and zero touchdowns. LSU fans couldn't have asked for a better defensive start to the season.
Kelly specifically mentions the second half, where LSU held Clemson off the scoreboard entirely. LSU earned a 14-0 advantage in the second half, showing that Kelly and his staff made the better halftime adjustments. Kelly's team was more prepared, and dominated in the trenches. Clemson's highly-praised pass rush generated just one sack against LSU's new-look offensive line. That alone is praise-worthy.
Furthermore, LSU had a touchdown taken off the board in a controversial review. Garrett Nussmeier hit Barion Brown down the right side in the end zone, but the play was called back after a lengthy review. The final score easily could have been more lop-sided than it ended up being.