In Baton Rouge, LSU fans have started the season each of the past few seasons talking about one thing, "The Streak". The LSU Tigers have struggled mightily in season openers starting each of the last 5 seasons 0-1. The streak predates Brian Kelly as Ed Oregron lost the first game of the 2020 season to Mississippi State before losing again the following year to UCLA. Brian Kelly hasn't been able to stop the slide with a pair of losses to Florida State before losing to USC to start the 2024 season.
As LSU continues to put themselves in a hole to start the year the fans have begged for LSU to play a cupcake to start the year rather than playing against a College Football Playoff caliber opponent before they've gelled. Instead, the LSU Football team opens the season with one of the toughest tests possible going on the road to face Clemson.
The Clemson Tigers are coming off of an ACC Championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff. Clemson returns a loaded group with 5 projected first round picks in Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, Cade Klubnik, Avieon Terrell, and Antonio Williams.
When LSU opened fall camp on Wednesday, Brian Kelly was once again asked about the lead up to this pivotal matchup against Clemson where he re-emphasized how important this game is to LSU.
"We’ve addressed this in January, 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."Brian Kelly
The Tigers are seemingly making this season more important than any other year in the Brian Kelly era. LSU went out and attacked the transfer portal like never before under Brian Kelly with the Tigers bringing in a loaded class with elite wide receivers in Nic Anderson and Barion Brown, top defensive backs in Mansoor Delane, Ja'Keem Jackson, and AJ Haulcy, and loaded up on the defensive line adding Bernard Gooden, Patrick Payton, and Jack Pyburn.
This LSU team comes into the season with the expectation of competing for an SEC Championship and for a place in the College Football Playoff. Losing once again in Week 1 would not only make it much harder for the Tigers but, it would only make the conversation around Brian Kelly much louder.
While LSU may not need to win the season opener, Brian Kelly almost certainly does as it'll start to shift the narrative around him.