Lane Kiffin's debut exceeded all expectations. Under the lights in Death Valley, LSU beat Clemson 51-10. LSU's offense moved the ball at will, while the defense was stifling. At one point in the second half, LSU had more touchdowns than Clemson had first downs.
Sam Leavitt threw an interception on the second play of the game, setting up Clemson in scoring position. That was the only good moment Clemson had all night. LSU responded by forcing a three-and-out and holding Clemson to a field goal.
After the pick, Leavitt was electric. He ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.4 yards per carry. He added 230 yards and a touchdown through the air. Safe to say, Leavitt put to rest any concerns about last year's foot injury.
Here are five stats
that define LSU's dominant win over Clemson.
LSU had 38 first downs; Clemson only had 8
Winning football games requires moving the ball. You do that by earning first downs. LSU did that at an elite clip on Saturday night. Clemson? Not so much.
Perhaps no stat puts this game in perspective more than LSU racking up 38 first downs while holding Clemson to eight. Most of Clemson's came in garbage time, too, when the game was already out of hand. Clemson went into the half with just one first down.
LSU had 300 passing yards and 300 rushing yards
Kiffin's offense was as advertised. The group was efficient, explosive, and balanced. LSU finished the game with 335 yards through the air and 309 yards on the ground. That's a sign of an offense firing on all cylinders.
LSU played clean football in every phase. Leavitt gained a large chunk of LSU's rushing yards on QB scrambles, but RB Dilin Jones ran for 113 yards in his LSU debut, too. As a team, LSU averaged 5.3 yards per carry. It's good advice not to overreact after Week 1, but I feel good saying LSU's run game is much better than it was in 2025.
Clemson Offense: -0.47 EPA/play
Clemson's offense only averaged -0.47 EPA/play, according to GameOnPaper.com. That's a 0th percentile performance. This was an elite outing from Blake Baker's defense.
Clemson scored only because LSU's offense turned it over in the red zone and later allowed a garbage-time touchdown as time wound down in the fourth quarter. This was the most dominant LSU defense we've seen in a few years.
Clemson's success rate was 29% and Dabo Swinney's group averaged 3.02 yards per play. Both marks were among CFB's worst in Week 1.
Sam Leavitt: 91.1 PFF offensive grade
There's a reason LSU paid up to land Sam Leavitt, the top-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal. The talent was on display on Saturday night.
Leavitt was dynamic with his legs. There were times when Clemson applied pressure, but Leavitt was elusive, often turning what would have been sacks into first-down scrambles. Leavitt had six runs of 10+ yards and forced three missed tackles, per PFF.
LSU's passing game could have been a bit cleaner at times, but that's expected with a QB making his first start in a new offense with several new players. Still, LSU did a good job scheming open receivers and Leavitt racked up 230 yards through the air.
LSU's defense had a havoc rate of 29%
LSU's defense got after it. Baker's unit was disruptive all night, posting a 29% havoc rate. The highlight havoc play came late in the first quarter, when LSU defensive end Jordan Ross dropped into coverage, picked off Clemson QB Christopher Vizinna, and followed a brigade of LSU defenders into the end zone for six. Ross had a career night, posting four pressures and a sack to go along with the pick.
Princewill Umanmielen delivered in his LSU debut, too, sacking the quarterback twice. Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery each notched four stops from the linebacker position. Weeks had a key tackle for a loss in the first half to stop Clemson on third down.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Five stats tell story of LSU football's dominant win over Clemson
