Game Notes for Clemson-LSU
By: Jason Priester September 5, 2026

BATON ROUGE, La. — Clemson will once again open the season against a marquee opponent as the Tigers travel to Baton Rouge to kick off the 2026 campaign against No. 11 LSU.

Dabo Swinney’s program comes in having lost three consecutive season-openers and four of its last five, with the only win coming over Georgia Tech in Atlanta to start the 2022 season.

This matchup will mark the sixth time these two teams have faced off, with LSU holding a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series, but this will be Clemson’s first time ever visiting Tiger Stadium. The last time a school beat the Bayou Bengals in its debut in Tiger Stadium was in 2000, when UAB knocked off a Nick Saban-coached LSU team 13-10.

With a victory, Clemson would join UAB and 13 other programs to win their first all-time game at Tiger Stadium since the facility opened in 1924, including Tulane (1924), Alabama (1925), Tennessee (1926), Oregon (1932), Georgia Tech (1944), Kentucky
(1949), Maryland (1951), Baylor (1960), Colorado (1971), USC (1979), Florida State (1979), Miami (Ohio) (1986) and Arkansas (1993).

ESPN’s College GameDay will be on location for the contest, with ABC carrying the broadcast beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers are making their 31st appearance on GameDay and the 23rd appearance since 2015.

With this game on the road against a ranked opponent, it is also an opportunity to add another tombstone to the graveyard outside the indoor facility. Clemson has added 28 tombstones to the graveyard under Swinney’s watch.

Here are some other game notes for this week, courtesy of Clemson Athletics:

– Clemson is opening three consecutive seasons against an AP-ranked opponent for the first time in school history.

– Clemson is attempting to earn its 58th all-time win against an AP Top 15 opponent.

– Clemson is opening a season against an AP Top 15 team for the 12th time in school history. It is Clemson’s fourth such season opener in the last six years, the most in the nation.

– Clemson is attempting to defeat an AP Top 15 team in a season opener for the first time since 2013, when Clemson opened the year with a 38-35 win against No. 5 Georgia.

– Clemson is attempting to earn its highest-ranked true road win (per AP rankings) since defeating No. 11 Virginia Tech, 23-3, in 2011.

– Clemson potentially playing in front of a crowd in excess of 100,000 people for the third time in program history. Clemson is 1-1 all-time in front of crowds of 100,000 or more people, including a win at Texas A&M in 2018 (104,794) and a loss at Texas in 2024 (101,150).

– Clemson attempting to improve to 14-6 against SEC opponents in regular-season play in the College Football Playoff era.

– Clemson attempting to improve to 36-10 in night games since the start of the 2018 season and 57-13 in night games since 2015.

– Clemson is attempting to improve to 41-12 in games following a loss under Dabo Swinney, including season openers following a loss in the previous season finale.

– Clemson is attempting to improve to 27-12 under Dabo Swinney when he faces opponents against whom he lost his most recent meeting in the series.

– Clemson is attempting to preserve its streak of having not lost to the same team in back-to-back years since 2014, the final year of a three-game series winning streak by Florida State.

– Clemson attempting to improve to 61-18 in games away from home since 2015. Clemson would improve to 45-10 in true road games in that span.

– Clemson is attempting to improve to 10-1 in its last 11 regular-season road games.

– Clemson is attempting to improve to 173-77-3 all-time (and 56-11 since 2011) when facing a coach for the first time. Saturday’s game will be Clemson’s first against LSU head coach Lane Kiffin.

– Swinney (187-53) is attempting to pass Joe Paterno and Urban Meyer (187 each) for the fourth-most victories within the first 20 seasons of a head coaching career. Swinney trails only Tom Osborne (195), Nick Saban (191) and Bob Stoops (191) despite 2026 only being Swinney’s 19th season (and 18th full season). Note: Stoops and Meyer are not credited on the NCAA’s official list of most wins through 20 seasons since they did not coach 20 years.

– Clemson attempting to hold its opponent to fewer than 23 points for a sixth consecutive game for the first time since a 16-game streak across the 2018-19 seasons.

– Clemson attempting to improve to 20-11 when playing in College GameDay’s featured contest. It would improve Clemson to 11-2 in GameDay games in regular-season play since 2015.