It's officially game week. The LSU Tigers are set to battle the Clemson Tigers this Saturday, Aug. 30 in a highly-anticipated Week 1 matchup. Both Tiger teams enter the season in the top-ten of the first AP Top 25 Poll of the season, and both have National Championship aspirations. Needless to say, this game is appointment television for not only LSU and Clemson fans, but for all college football fans out there.
Brian Kelly's team has a chance to make a massive statement with a win. A victory at Clemson on Saturday would put the whole country on notice that LSU is a legitimate National Championship contender. It would also put an end to LSU's frustrating streak of season opening losses.
LSU desperately needs a 1-0 start
In recent years, LSU fans have suffered through disappointment after disappointment in season opening games. After all of the offseason build up and anticipation, it's been a while since LSU has delivered a 1-0 start. Not only is Brian Kelly 0-3 in season openers during his tenure in Baton Rouge, but LSU hasn't won a season opener since its historic 2019 season. That's five straight seasons of starting 0-1. Needless to say, Tiger fans are desperate to end that drought.
During their five-game losing streak in season openers, the LSU offense has started slow out of the gate. Last season, LSU managed to score just 20 points against USC in Las Vegas. Nothing came easy for Garrett Nussmeier and company, and the lack of efficiency led to several missed opportunities. LSU still totaled 421 total yards of offense, with Nussmeier throwing for 308 through the air. However, penalties and stalled drives led to a frustrating evening for the Tiger offense. The red zone offense wasn't clicking, which included LSU turning the ball over on downs at the USC 3-yard line during the opening drive of the game. That set the tone for a disappointing night.
Penalties have also killed the Tigers in season openers lately. That theme continued last season when LSU was flagged for nine penalties, resulting in 99 yards for USC. With the score tied 20-20 in the final minute of the game, a personal foul penalty on LSU's Jardin Gilbert gave the Trojans the ball at LSU's 13-yard line with 18 seconds left in regulation. USC would score the game-winning touchdown on the following play.
After the game, Brian Kelly spoke about his frustration with his teams' penalties.
"But the thing that is most concerning for me are the personal fouls, the penalties that are selfish. They're undisciplined penalties. That falls back on me. We take pride in running a disciplined program, but we have clearly not done a good enough job there because it impacted the game."Brian Kelly
New season, new opportunities
While the last few years haven't started out on the right foot, there is hope for 2025. Garrett Nussmeier's return as a second-year starter should help the offensive continuity. His veteran experience and leadership is invaluable to the Tigers, and he won't be phased by anything.
Last year's leading receiver Aaron Anderson is also back, as well as 2024 leading rusher Caden Durham. That's a lot of returning production that is capable of leading a better offensive performance, even against a strong Clemson defense.
Furthermore, the penalty issues that arose in last season's opener against USC are fixable. Playing disciplined football and avoiding unforced penalties will go a long way in starting 1-0. Clemson doesn't need any extra yards.
LSU has a monster chance to start the 2025 season with an eye-opening win. It wouldn't just be a 1-0 start, it would give the Tigers a top-five road win before the calendar flips to September. That would be a massive victory in more ways than one.