Brian Kelly re-emphasizes how important winning season opener is for LSU

LSU has not won a season opener under Brian Kelly. Entering year four, the Tigers are looking to change that against Clemson on the road.

So far in three seasons at the helm of LSU’s football program, Kelly has kept the program in the upper echelon of the SEC, compiling a 29-11 record over that stretch. Still, Tigers fans are still waiting on their first trip to the College Football Playoff under his guidance.

“We’ve addressed this in January,” Kelly told reporters. “We addressed it with the guys that we brought in. We addressed it in the way we trained our football team. We addressed it in spring ball, and then into our off season, and again, we’ve made it pretty known. You know what our goal is, and our goal is to go 1-0.

“If there’s anything that is slightly different from in years past, it’s that we are so much more intentional about getting to Aug. (30) in January, and that focus has remained the same for the last seven and a half months.”

Every move Kelly made in the offseason was intentional in an attempt to not only start 1-0, but to go much father than they have in previous years. LSU boasts the No. 2 overall transfer portal class this offseason and is bringing in a top 10 recruiting class from the high school ranks. Add in the fact that the Tigers have one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Garrett Nussmeier — the ceiling for LSU football in 2025 is high.

Getting past the first week of the season unscathed isn’t guaranteed for LSU, however. They have arguably the toughest task of any team during Week 1 when they travel to play Clemson in a true road environment at night.

Clemson squeezed their way into the CFP last season as the fifth-highest ranked conference champion after upsetting SMU in the 2024 ACC Championship game. They’re expected to be improved in just about every way and just like LSU, have their sights on the postseason once again.

There has already been some trash talk from both head coaches. Both programs dub their stadiums with the ‘Death Valley’ moniker, so Kelly used that against Clemson. He called Memorial Stadium “Death Valley Jr.” while Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said that he doesn’t have to prove where the real Death Valley is. “Google that,” he said.

Kickoff between the two college football contenders is set for Aug. 30 live on ABC. Clemson is an early 3.5-point betting favorite, according to BetMGM.