Clemson falls short in first loss of the season

The Clemson Tigers enter their 2025 college football season opener with a No. 4 preseason rankings and high hopes of ending their recent struggles against SEC opponents.

But by the end of the night at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, it was the latest in what has become a familiar ending for coach Dabo Swinney's Tigers. Clemson fell to No. 9 LSU, 17-10, after a promising start that saw them lead 10-3 at halftime.

The Tigers have dropped four straight against SEC opponents. They are just 3-8 in their last 11 games against the SEC, dating back to the 2020 national championship game loss to LSU.

LSU's stifling defense limited preseason first-team Associated Press All-America quarterback Cade Klubnik to 19-of-38 passing for 230 yards and an interception. It didn’t help that Clemson lost star wide receiver Antonio Williams, a second-team preseason AP All-American, to an injury early in the first quarter. He did not return, and Swinney offered no timetable for his recovery. Clemson managed only 31 yards on the ground, with the highlight being a second effort by Adam Randall on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. This was following a gutsy fourth-down decision to go for the touchdown.

LSU's running game, by contrast, finished with 108 yards on the ground, including 74 yards and a touchdown by talented sophomore tailback Caden Durham, which tied the game at 10-10 on the Bayou Bengals' first offensive series of the second half. Garrett Nussmeier threw a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown pass to Trey’Dez Green in the fourth quarter, and that was the nail in the coffin as No. 9 LSU rallied past fourth-ranked Clemson for their first season-opening win since 2019.