LSU football coach Lane Kiffin couldn't resist taking a swipe at critics during halftime of the Bayou Bengals' beatdown of the Clemson Tigers Saturday night in Baton Rouge.
With his team in complete control and already leading 31-3, Kiffin spoke to ABC/ESPN's Holly Rowe as the teams went to intermission. Kiffin headed toward the locker room but not before landing a straight-up jab at critics.
"Imagine if we had pro players," Kiffin told Rowe.
The comment came after Kiffin and LSU's well-publicized attempts to roster former NFL players that were cut following training camps as part of the league's 53-man roster decisions.
Though far from the only one, one of the more vocal critics of LSU's attempts to roster two undrafted NFL free agents was Clemson
coach Dabo Swinney, who called it "embarrassing."
"Honestly, it's just embarrassing that that's where we are," Swinney said at his Tuesday press conference. "I don't blame the kids and people trying to take advantage of the system. I just think it's embarrassing where we are with college football. And we've been there for a while."
Swinney also said: "We just kind of -- no pun intended -- stay in our lane here at Clemson."
Neither tight end Dae'Quan Wright or defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, two players at the heart of LSU's attempts and who were given the green light to return to college football by a Louisiana judge on Thursday, were on the Tigers' final game day roster for Week 1.
LSU sure didn't need their help on Saturday night. The Tigers were leading 44-3 at the end of the third quarter and had amassed 507 yards of total offense and 31 first downs while holding Clemson to 73 yards and four first downs.
"Imagine if we had pro players." - Lane Kiffin as he exits his ESPN on ABC halftime interview with Holly Rowe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026
"Uh. He threw that in at the end: 'Imagine if we had pro players.' Couldn't resist." - Chris Fowler pic.twitter.com/tdr1EyEObi
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: LSU's Lane Kiffin takes jab at critics at halftime of Clemson beatdown
