On Saturday night, Dabo Swinney saw his team drop a season opener for the third consecutive season. No. 9 LSU came into Memorial Stadium and handed No. 4 Clemson a 17-10 loss in front of their home fans. It was a massive win for Brian Kelly and company, who signaled to the rest of the country that they are legitimate national title contenders this season.
The game wasn't the prettiest, but the Tigers found a win to pickup a gutsy win on the road against a top-five team. The LSU defense was the story, as Blake Baker's revamped defensive unit made life difficult on Clemson's offense all night long.
The dust from the top-10 matchup is still settling, as Swinney's peculiar comments at his press conference on Tuesday are making the rounds on social media. Swinney's assessment of LSU has fans shaking their heads.
Dabo Swinney grades LSU's performance a 65
"It's like getting a final exam on day one of class. They made a 65, we made a 58. Neither one of us were great."Dabo Swinney
The argument can be made that the final score of 17-10 doesn't show the full story of Saturday's contest. LSU had an impressive touchdown pass from Garrett Nussmeier to Barion Brown called back after a controversial review, and left points on the board by not kicking a chip shot field goal before halftime. With those two instances, LSU was in position to put 27 points on the board on the road against Clemson's vaunted defense.
LSU's defense dominated Clemson all night long. The Tigers held Clemson to a measly 31 rushing yards and just 1.6 yards per carry. Cade Klubnik, a potential top-10 pick, completed just 50 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and an interception. On the other side, Garrett Nussmeier completed over 70 percent of his passes for 238 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.
LSU out-gained Clemson 354-261, and controlled time of possession 37:10-22:50. LSU also shut out Clemson for the entire second half. Furthermore, Clemson's elite pass rush was only able to sack Nussmeier once, while LSU sacked Klubnik twice.
Given those disparities, if LSU scored a 65, then Clemson scored a 20.