LSU ends five-game losing streak in openers, tops Clemson - ESPN

CLEMSON, S.C. — LSU coach Brian Kelly didn't have to pound the table after this season's opener.

No. 9 LSU ended its five-game losing streak in openers with a 17-10 victory over No. 4 Clemson on Saturday night, its first season-opening win since record-setting quarterback Joe Burrow and his high-flying offense went undefeated and captured a CFP national championship in 2019.

In a game that was expected to be a shootout between potential NFL first-round picks Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik, LSU's much-maligned defense stole the show by shutting out Clemson in the second half and limiting the Tigers to 31 rushing yards.

«You've got to have some grit and you've got to have character, and these kids listened to all the doubters and said, 'You know what? It doesn't matter,'» Kelly said.

A year ago, Kelly was so frustrated after LSU's 27-20 loss to USC in its opener in Las Vegas that he pounded a table with his fist and nearly knocked over his water bottle.

«We're sitting here again… we're sitting here again,» Kelly said last year. «Talking about the same things, about not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put 'em away.»

That wasn't a problem Saturday night. After LSU finally took the lead on Nussmeier's 8-yard touchdown to tight end Trey'Dez Green with 12:18 to play, LSU's retooled defense stopped Clemson's offense on fourth down at the LSU 33 and forced a three-and-out on the next possession.

After Clemson drove to LSU's 15-yard line with about a minute to play, linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. forced Klubnik to roll out and throw an incomplete pass on fourth down.

«We've had offenses here in the last few years that could move the football,» Kelly said. «We needed to complement it with a defense that