BATON ROUGE, La. — After all the hype. After all the court room drama. After a two-hour pregame lightning delay, Clemson put on one of the worst performances in the program’s history Saturday night.
Of course, No. 11 LSU had a lot to do with that as well, as the Bayou Bengals crushed Clemson 51-10 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt combined for 343 total yards and three touchdowns, while running back Dilin Jones added 113 yards on the ground and two more touchdowns for the homestanding Tigers.
In all, LSU totaled 644 tards and averaged 6.9 yards per play. The Bayou Bengals were 10-for-14 on third down and had a 38-8 edge on first downs.
It was even worse for Clemson on the other side of the line of scrimmage. The ACC’s Tigers looked horrible for much of the night, as they totaled just 145 yards and averaged 3.0 yards per play.
Clemson was just 1-for-13 on third down, while quarterbacks Christoper Vizzina and Tait Reynolds were sacked four times. The two combined for 14 of 22 passes for 105 yards. Clemson had just four first downs prior to its last drive of the game, which ended with a David Eziomume 11-yard touchdown run.
The visiting Tigers ran for just 40 yards on 26 carries, with most of those coming on that last drive. Eziomume’s 11-yard TD, plus a nine-yard run by Jarvis Green on the same drive accounted for 20 of Clemson’s 40 yards.
Vizzina’s first start as Clemson’s quarterback was a disaster for the senior, who had waited three seasons behind Cade Klubnik to get this shot. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 83 yards, while running five times for a net of 4 yards.
He was sacked once and had a first quarter interception returned for a touchdown.
Reynolds did not fare much better. He was sacked three times, as he completed just 4 of 6 throws for 22 yards.
Clemson’s offensive line was pushed around and kicked all night by LSU’s defensive front. Clemson had just one first down and 54 total yards at halftime. LSU led 31-3 at the break.
On defense, cornerback Ashton Hampton registered his fourth career interception, while safeties Jerome Carter III and Corey Myrick paced Clemson in tackles with 11 and 10, respectively.
Hampton intercepted Leavitt on the contest’s second play from scrimmage, giving Clemson possession at the LSU 33-yard line.
After the first of nine three-and-outs posted by Clemson’s offense, Nolan Hauser put Clemson in front 3-0 with a 49-yard field goal with 13:28 remaining in the opening stanza.
Clemson’s lead did not last long.
LSU began the ensuing possession from its own 10-yard line following a penalty, and finished it with a 10-play, 59-yard drive with an equalizing 49-yard field goal by Scott Starzyk with 10:16 remaining in the first quarter.
On its next possession, LSU capped an 11-play, 89-yard march with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Jones, giving it a 10-3 lead with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter.
On the third play of Clemson’s ensuing drive, Jordan Ross intercepted Vizzina and returned it 30 yards for a TD and a 17-3 lead with 2:03 remaining in the first. LSU extended its lead to 24-3 with 7:54 remaining in the first half on an eight-yard rushing touchdown by Leavitt.
The LSU quarterback, who had 113 rushing yards, added his second rushing touchdown of the game later in the quarter, a 13-yard scamper to give LSU a 31-3 lead at the break.
Reynolds made his collegiate debut on Clemson’s final possession of the first half, completing a seven-yard pass to Tyler Brown on his first attempt.
In the second half, LSU’s Winston Watkins Jr. and Jones added third-quarters scores to extend the LSU advantage to 44-3 entering the final frame. Phillip Wright III scored in the fourth quarter, pushing LSU’s lead to 51-3.
Clemson responded with an eight-play, 71-yard drive capped by Eziomume’s first career TD, an 11-yard score that brought the final score to 51-10.
It is a trend
Clemson has lost five of its last six openers, including four straight. In the last three, against Georgia and two to LSU, the Tigers have been outscored 102-23, for an average margin of defeat of 26.3 points.
The ACC’s Tigers also got beat by 21 points in the 2023 season opener at Duke. That is losing by a combined score of 130-30 in Clemson’s last four-season openers.
Up Next
Clemson will make its home debut at Memorial Stadium on Saturday when the Tigers host Georgia Southern. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
–photo courtesy of Clemson Athletics
