Two hours of rain, then a landslide
Kickoff came almost two hours late in Baton Rouge. Lightning kept everyone waiting. When LSU finally got going, Clemson never did.
The Tigers of Louisiana beat the Tigers of South Carolina 51-10 on Saturday night, in a season opener that stopped being a contest well before halftime. Sam Leavitt ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Dilin Jones added two more scores on the ground. LSU piled up 644 yards of offense. Clemson managed 145.
Lane Kiffin has coached plenty of openers. This was his first at LSU after leaving Ole Miss, and it had turned into a party by the second quarter.
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Leavitt makes the transfer look easy
Leavitt arrived from Arizona State and needed less than three quarters to throw for 230 yards. He and Jones each rushed for 113. LSU finished with 309 rushing yards and 37 first downs, a school record.
The scoring started politely enough. Nolan Hauser and Scott Starzyk traded 49-yard field goals in the first quarter. Then Jones punched in from a yard out, Jordan Ross intercepted Christopher Vizzina and took it 30 yards the other way, and it was 17-3 after fifteen minutes. Leavitt ran in from 8 yards, then from 13. Halftime: 31-3.
LSU’s first drive after the break ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Winston Watkins Jr., who caught seven balls for 110 yards. Jones scored again from 12 yards out. By the end of the third quarter the lead was 44-3 and Kiffin was emptying his bench. Landen Clark came on and found Phillip Wright III from 30 yards.
Swinney’s worst night in 19 years
Dabo Swinney has run Clemson since 2008. Nothing in those 19 seasons has been this heavy. Vizzina, making his second career start in his fourth year on campus, threw for 83 yards and gave up the pick-six. Freshman Tait Reynolds relieved him late in the second quarter and gained 22 yards through the air before Vizzina returned in the fourth.
David Eziomume ran 11 yards for Clemson’s only touchdown with the game long decided. Both teams open conference play next week.
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