BATON ROUGE, LA – The Lane Kiffin era started with fireworks. Literally.
As LSU came out of the tunnel shortly before kickoff of its game against Clemson, LSU shot off purple and gold fireworks inside the stadium to hard launch to Kiffin's debut with the Tigers.
Hey, better than saving up the fireworks for display after a loss, like Rutgers did.
Earlier in the day, Kiffin, ever the showman, entered the stadium during the Tiger Walk wearing a double breasted suit. He was accompanied by comedian Theo Von and swimsuit model Olivia Dunne, a former LSU gymnast.
The start of the Clemson-LSU game was delayed two hours because of lightning and heavy rain. The Kiffin era officially kicked off at 8:40 p.m. local time, with smoke from the pregame pyrotechnics
display hovering in the air at Tiger Stadium.
Lane Kiffin era starts with fireworks. pic.twitter.com/AudMCdQtyi
— Blake Toppmeyer (@btoppmeyer) September 6, 2026
On the second play of the game, LSU's new quarterback Sam Leavitt threw an interception.
From fireworks, to fizzle.
The Tigers defense did respond to the early miscue by holding Clemson, which started on the LSU 33, without a first down. Clemson did manage points on the drive with a 49-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser with 13:28 left in the first quarter that gave it a 3-0 lead.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lane Kiffin's LSU era against Clemson starts with fireworks -- then interception
