Lane Kiffin got off to a hot start Saturday night, blowing out Dabo Swinney's Clemson Tigers in his debut as LSU's head coach. Playing in front of a raucous crowd of more than 100,000 fans, Kiffin's squad walked out of Death Valley with a statement 51-10 win. It was exactly the kind of start Kiffin was hoping for — and exactly the kind Swinney was hoping to avoid.
But Kiffin, in the most on-brand way possible, delivered a parting shot during a halftime interview with LSU already up 31-3. "Imagine if we had pro players," Kiffin told ABC's Holly Rowe as he ran off into the locker room. More news: Bill Belichick’s Son Faces Alarming Allegations in Bombshell UNC Investigation Unsurprisingly, Kiffin's LSU debut came with some added drama attached.
Leading up to Saturday's game, LSU had pushed to add two former NFL players, tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, both of whom were seeking to use a new pathway to return for another season of college football. The SEC, however, had adopted a rule prohibiting member schools from placing former professional football players on their rosters. The conference even sued to stop the move, though a court order temporarily cleared the way.
With that legal battle still hanging in the balance, Kiffin decided to hold both players out of LSU's season opener, calling it a difficult decision made with the program's best interests in mind. So when Kiffin found himself up by nearly 30 points at halftime — all without any pro talent on the field — he couldn't help but poke fun at the whole situation. More news: Lane Kiffin Breaks Silence on LSU’s Ex-NFL Players Bombshell More news: Miami’s Malachi Toney Makes Program History in Rout of Stanford Clemson vs.
LSU had been circled on fans' calendars for months, seen as an early measuring stick for both college football programs under new pressure. Things couldn't have gone much better for Kiffin's side. Looking ahead, LSU hosts Louisiana Tech next Saturday before heading to Oxford, Mississippi, to face Kiffin's former team, Ole Miss — another game already circled on fans' calendars.
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