The Lane Kiffin era is off to a flying start at LSU.
LSU opened the season with a 51-10 rout of the Clemson Tigers before a raucous, sellout crowd Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
The game started about two hours later than the scheduled kickoff time of 6:39 because of lightning in the area.
“That was a really good job by all our players with all the questions about how would they be with what most people think are distractions,” Kiffin said in his postgame press conference. “And they did a great job.”
The “distractions” Kiffin referred to involved the national conversation, including some intense criticism in the media and from other programs, around LSU’s recruitment of two players who spent time in NFL training camps.
There was as much reporting about court cases leading up to the game as there was about football.
Kiffin said if LSU had lost or won “ugly” the distractions would have been cited as a big reason.
“I’m happy for our fans,” he said. “I’m happy for our leadership, our university. A lot of things were said about a lot of people this week and how this game may go and happy for all of them.”
After an interception of a pass by LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt on the Tigers’ first offensive series led to a field goal, it was all LSU.
The Baton Rouge Tigers answered with 51 straight points.
The domination was complete.
LSU had a school-record 37 first downs. Clemson had eight but four of those came on a late touchdown drive against backups with the Tigers up 51-3.
“A stat I always look at is first downs,” Kiffin said. “You’ve got to do a lot of things right besides just explosive plays. Thirty-eight first downs in a game is a lot of people doing things right.”
LSU, which led 31-3 at the half, had 644 total yards (335 passing, 309 rushing. Clemson had 145, including just 40 rushing yards.
Leavitt, an Arizona State transfer, completed 16-of-28 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 113 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns.
Backup Landen Clark passed for 72 yards and a TD.
Dilin Jones had an outstanding debut, rushing for 113 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.
Winston Watkins Jr. caught seven passes for 110 yards and a TD. Phillip Wright III had three receptions for 70 and a TD. Trey’Dez Green had four for 58.
The LSU defense shut down Clemson’s running game and put heavy pressure on quarterback Chris Vizzina.
Jordan Ross returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown to give LSU a 17-3 lead 2:07 left in the first quarter. That was mostly due to pressure on the quarterback.
Linebacker Whit Weeks and edge Princewill Ummanmielen led the team with six total tackles each. Dashawn Spears and TJ Dottery had five each.
During his press conference, Kiffin was asked about the atmosphere both before and during the game. A huge crowd watched him and the Tigers on the walk to the stadium.
He said he appreciated the fans waiting out the delay.
“That’s the LSU swagger,” he said. “That’s the energy. That’s how the stadium is supposed to be. Hard to come in and play. Hard to play on offense especially quarterback.
“We came out to an electric atmosphere. That was cool to see and I appreciate that a lot.”