The "Notes to Know" from LSU's win over Clemson

No. 9 LSU faced off against No. 5 Clemson on Saturday night in South Carolina as one of a trio of Top 10 matchups in Week 1 of the college football season.

The time for talk and speculation had ended, and after 60 minutes of football, it was the LSU Tigers who stood standing as the winner of the Week 1 matchup.

By Sunday evening, all three of Week 1’s matchups between Top 10 teams saw the lower-ranked team win – with LSU being the lone program to pull off a road win.

No. 1 Texas fell at No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday morning before No. 6 Notre Dame lost to No. 10 Miami in South Florida on Sunday night.

As for the Saturday night game at Clemson, here are the “Notes to Know” for LSU fans courtesy of this week’s LSU Game Notes.

General Notes to Know: LSU 17, Clemson 10

1. LSU vs. Clemson Series

• LSU faced Clemson for the fifth time overall and for the first time inside Clemson Memorial Stadium.
• This was the first regular-season meeting between the teams.
  • All four previous contests came in the postseason, most recently on Jan. 13, 2020, when LSU won the CFP National Championship, 42-25, in New Orleans.
• LSU now leads the overall series, 4-1, after Saturday’s 17-10 victory.
  • The first meeting came in the 1959 Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, which was televised nationally on NBC — the first LSU football game ever broadcast on national TV.

2. Season Openers

• LSU is now 92-35-5 all-time in season openers.
• Saturday’s 17-10 win at Clemson snapped a streak of five straight losses in season openers. LSU is 23-7 in openers since 1996.
• LSU’s 2015 opener vs. McNeese was declared a no contest due to weather.

3. Top-10 Road Wins

• LSU was seeking just its second true road win over an AP Top-10 non-conference opponent.
• LSU defeated No. 9 Texas, 45-38, in Austin in 2019.
• In the SEC era, LSU is now 2-11 in such games. The exceptions where LSU was ranked:
  • 2025 at Clemson (No. 9 LSU)
  • 2019 at Texas (No. 6 LSU)
  • 1970 at Notre Dame (No. 6 LSU)

4. True Road Openers

• This was LSU’s first true road opener since 2021.
• Brian Kelly’s first three season openers at LSU came at neutral sites.
• Since 1995, LSU has opened the season with a true road game seven times, going 4-3.

5. Top-10 Season Openers

• Saturday marked the third time in program history LSU opened with a Top-10 showdown.
  • 2023: No. 5 LSU vs. No. 8 Florida State (loss, 45-24 in Orlando).
  • 2011: No. 4 LSU vs. No. 3 Oregon (win, 40-27 in Arlington).

6. Brian Kelly vs. Clemson

• Saturday was Brian Kelly’s fifth career meeting vs. Clemson.
• Kelly is now 2-3 against the Tigers.
  • His first four matchups came at Notre Dame, with his lone win before Saturday in 2020.
  • Other results: 2015 (loss, 24-22), 2018 CFP semifinal (loss, 30-3), and 2020 split (win in regular season, loss in ACC Championship).

7. Brian Kelly at LSU

• LSU is now 30-11 under Kelly.
• Record by year: 10-4 (2022, SEC West champs), 10-3 (2023), 9-4 (2024).
• LSU has won all three bowl games under Kelly.

8. LSU vs. ACC

• LSU is 40-31-1 all-time vs. the current/expanded ACC.
• Has faced all but 3 current ACC schools (Cal, NC State, Virginia).
• Last matchup: 2023 opener vs. Florida State (loss, 45-24).

9. Openers vs. AP Top-25

• This was LSU’s 17th all-time opener vs. a ranked team, third straight year.
• LSU holds a 13-4 record in such games.
• Saturday was the fifth opener in an opponent’s home stadium (LSU now 4-1).
  • Last example: 2015 at Mississippi State (win, 21-19).

10. August Openers

• For the first time since 2019, LSU opened a season in August.
• LSU is now 7-0 in August games.
• Saturday marked the first game ever at Clemson, S.C.
• LSU is 2-0 in August road games (also 2007 at Mississippi State).

11. Non-Conference Record Since 2001

• LSU is 97-14 vs. non-conference opponents since 2001.
• Of the 97 wins, 22 came vs. ranked teams.
• Seven of the 14 losses came in the regular season (2002 VT, 2016 Wisconsin, 2017 Troy, 2021 UCLA, 2022 FSU, 2023 FSU, 2024 USC).
• The other seven came in bowl games.

12. Kelly vs. Non-Conference

• LSU is 13-3 vs. non-conference foes under Brian Kelly.
• Last win: 2024 Texas Bowl vs. Baylor.

13. First-Time Starters

• 12 players earned their first LSU starts, including Bauer Sharp, Destyn Hill, Barion Brown, Braelin Moore, Josh Thompson, Weston Davis, Bernard Gooden, Patrick Payton, Jack Pyburn, Tamarcus Cooley, Mansoor Delane, and West Weeks.

14. True Freshmen Debuts

• 7 true freshmen saw action: DJ Pickett, Harlem Berry, Charles Ross II, CJ Jimcoily, Silas Hall, Walter Mathis Jr., and Zion Williams.

15. Redshirt Freshmen

• Redshirts appearing: Michael Turner Jr., Joel Rogers, Tylen Singleton, Weston Davis, Ory Williams, Coen Echols.

16. Transfers

• 14 transfers made their LSU debut, including Sharp, Hill, Brown, Moore, Thompson, Gooden, Payton, Pyburn, Cooley, Delane, A.J. Haulcy, Nic Anderson, Jamari Butler, and Grant Chadwick.

17. A.J. Haulcy Suspension

• Haulcy sat out the first half vs. Clemson due to a 2024 ejection at Houston.
• Returned in the second half and started.

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