No. 9 LSU outlasts No. 4 Clemson as Garrett Nussmeier outduels Cade Klubnik in top-10 showdown

There was considerable hype leading up to the game about the future NFL draft prospects of Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik and LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Headed into the season, each quarterback was considered a possible No. 1 overall pick in next year's NFL Draft.

Off Saturday's game alone, Nussmeier looked like the better bet to hear his name called first next spring. The LSU quarterback had some early challenges against Clemson's talented defensive front, but settled in nicely as the game went on and started picking apart the Tigers' defense. Nussmeier was smart with the ball and had some absolutely beautiful passes, including a dime to Barion Brown that looked like a touchdown but was later ruled incomplete. It's not easy to stand in the pocket when you have Peter Woods and T.J. Parker running at you, but Nussmeier looked pretty comfortable and made the throws he needed to.

Klubnik's night was more up-and-down and unfortunately featured a bad interception in the third quarter. Klubnik progressed so much as a passer last season from where he started the season against Georgia to battling with Texas in the College Football Playoff. Against a very good LSU defense, Klubnik looked to have slightly regressed. The Clemson QB still looked more comfortable, at times, running than throwing. He's a dynamic player and there's still plenty to like, but a 19-of-38 statline made it tough for Clemson to capitalize on a huge opportunity for a marquee non-conference win. It is worth factoring in, too, Klubnik was without star receiver Antonio Williams for much of the game after he suffered a hamstring injury early in the first quarter.

Everyone has heard the ignominious statistic repeated over and over again this offseason. LSU hadn't won its last five season openers, including the last three with Brian Kelly at the helm. In case you forgot, Kelly was particularly upset about last season's season-opening to USC and slammed a table in disgust.

Coming off a disappointing 2024 season, there was a lot at stake for Kelly and his LSU Tigers to win this one against a team that made the playoffs a season ago. Give Kelly and his staff a lot of credit for rebuilding the defense through smart transfer portal and recruiting additions. If Saturday night is a preview of what to expect all season, DBU may really be back. LSU's defense proved to be a handful for Cade Klubnik and the Clemson offense in a way that felt impossible a year ago.

You could feel headed into this game that a narrative would emerge one way or another. Either Kelly and LSU could feel the wrath of a fanbase desperate to be back in the national title contention again. Or it could propel the hype machine to new levels and allow people like myself to make reasonable arguments that LSU is the best SEC team at this very moment.

Scheduling tough opponents Week 1 has potential drawbacks -- just ask Texas and Alabama -- but in LSU's case, it should give it the momentum it needs on a potentially special year in Baton Rouge.

Clemson lost star running back Phil Mafah to the NFL after the 2024 season. If Week 1 is an indication, there aren't clear replacements waiting in the wings. Running back Adam Randall had an impressive, physical touchdown run, but the unit as a whole struggled against an aggressive LSU front. 

The Tigers rushed for only 31 yards on 20 carries, a disappointing performance that put extra stress on the passing game. Clemson was forced to throw the ball 40 times in 58 plays, with Klubnik also recording six of those carries. If Clemson can't get more consistent run protection from its offensive line, it will have a hard time living up to its lofty No. 4 preseason ranking. 

Thankfully for them, Clemson only has two ranked opponents on the schedule, and none in the top 10. SMU and South Carolina will not present the same kind of defensive challenges, which gives them the opportunity to regroup. 

No. 9 LSU went on the road and shocked No. 4 Clemson 17-10 to pick up a crucial road victory and move into the national championship picture. The battle went down to the final minutes, but LSU coach Brian Kelly finally picked up his first season opening victory as Tigers coach. 

Tied 10-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier put together a legacy drive. After he was roughed on a completion to Aaron Anderson, Nussmeier ran for a third down conversion and then found tight end Trey'Dez Green for an eight-yard touchdown to give LSU a lead it would never surrender. 

Clemson had three more chances to get back into the end zone, turning it over on downs once and going three-and-out to set up a pivotal final drive. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik completed a big-time pass to T.J. Moore while hit to lead a drive into the red zone. Facing fourth-and-4, LSU defender Harold Perkins brought pressure and forced an incompletion to end the game. 

Playing against a phenomenal Clemson defense, Nussmeier stepped up big, completing 28-of-38 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown in the win. Anderson was his top target, catching six passes for 99 yards, including a 39-yarder. Running back Caden Durham went for 74 yards and a touchdown. Klubnik was strong, throwing for 230 yards, with four receivers hitting four catches. However, the lack of running game (20 carries for 31 yards) stood tall in the biggest moments. 

Clemson's offense went three-and-out on the previous drive, but the defense once again stepped up to get LSU's high-powered offense off the field. The Tigers' offense will get the ball off a punt with decent field position when we come out of the two-minute timeout. 

4Q: LSU 17, Clemson 10 | 4:26

Clemson gets the ball back with only a handful of minutes left down by a score on their home field. Quarterback Cade Klubnik has been under constant pressure from LSU's defense, but needs to put a full drive together. 

Fourth quarter: LSU 17, Clemson 10 (12:18) 

LSU secures its first lead of the game when it matters most in the fourth quarter. Nussmeier looked great on an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Trey'Dez Green. A key factor: LSU's offensive continues to really hold up well against Clemson's heralded defensive line that could have two top 10 picks on it. Nussmeier isn't facing as much pressure in the second half as he did in the first, and has found nice throwing lanes to pick apart Clemson's defense. 

LSU was on the wrong side of a call that immediately felt controversial and could only grow from there if Brian Kelly's bunch lose this one. Garrett Nussmeier threw an absolute dime to Barion Brown that looked like a possible touchdown to put LSU up 16-10 pending PAT but was later ruled an incomplete pass after review. Brown did bobble the ball a bit going to the ground but it still looked like a touchdown upon a few reviews.

To make matters worse for LSU, the Tigers came away with zero points after Damian Ramos missed a 46-yard field goal. 

Third quarter: Clemson 10, LSU 10 (8:59)

An efficient 9-play, 69-yard drive capped by a 2-yard Caden Durham touchdown made things all square here. Nussmeier has really settled in nicely for LSU and has developed a good connection with receiver Aaron Anderson, who is up to 80 yards on four catches on the night. Give credit to LSU's offensive line too, which had its hands full with Clemson's talented front in the first half but has held up well here in the third quarter. 

Halftime: Clemson 10, LSU 3

Inside the redzone and looking poised to cut Clemson's lead, LSU came away with zero points after a big call from Brian Kelly blew up in his face. Perhaps wanting to follow Dabo Swinney's fourth-down aggression lead, Kelly's LSU Tigers went for it on 4th-and-2 from Clemson's 12-yard line with 15 seconds left in the half. LSU looked like it'd pick up the first down, but another forced fumble gave Clemson the ball back and left a dejected LSU team still down 7 points headed into the locker room. 

Clemson's defense has come up huge tonight, forcing two turnovers and already having a sack and four tackles for loss in the first half. The defense getting stop after stop gave Cade Klubnik, who started off slow, time to get in a groove and finally get going in the second quarter. 

In the battle of two QBs who could be highly drafted next year, Klubnik finished the half 6 of 12 for 91 yards. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier was 12 of 17 for 96 yards. 

Second quarter: Clemson 10, LSU 3 (4:36)

Give Dabo Swinney for playing aggressively and it paying off in a big way. Clemson went for it on 4th down twice, including from the 1-yard line, and it paid off when a second effort from Adam Randall got him into the endzone. In a tight 3-3 game it would have been easy to take a field goal, especially when it was 4th-and-2 from the 25-yard line, but Swinney brought his own guts on that drive. 

It was the best drive of the night for Cade Klubnik, too. The Clemson QB juked a LSU defender out of shoes and had runs for 5, 7 and 7 yards on that drive. He settled in nicely there. 

Second quarter: Clemson 3, LSU 3 (10:53) 

LSU tied it up on a 52-yard Damian Ramos field goal. It was LSU's best offensive drive of the night, with Nussmeier hitting Aaron Anderson for an 11-yard pass and Zavion Thomas for a 19-yard play to move the ball to Clemson's 33-yard line. Clemson stood tall, though, aided by Will Heidt's sack of Nussmeier. 

It's still very early but Nussmeier has looked like the better QB so far. 

Star receiver Antonio Williams is headed to the locker room with an apparent hamstring injury. For an offense that is already struggling in the passing game against LSU's rebuilt defensive secondary, that's not great news. Williams had 75 catches for 904 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago. 

First quarter: Clemson 3, LSU 0 (8:57)

Clemson got set up in great field position on LSU's 24-yard line after Aveion Terrell forced Bauer Sharp to fumble the ball. The call was close but was ultimately upheld after a long review. Clemson couldn't move the ball from there, however, and had to settle for a 42-yard field goal from Nolan Hauser.

Midway through the first quarter, the defenses have looked more impressive than the two highly-regarded quarterbacks. Clemson QB Cade Klubnik is 0 for 3 on passes while LSU star Garrett Nussmeier is 4 for 5 for 23 yards. 

It is VERY loud here inside Memorial Stadium ahead of a 3rd-and-11 opportunity for LSU on Clemson's 40-yard line, prompting Brian Kelly to call timeout. LSU got a 24-yard run from Caden Durham to get its offense going, but Clemson settling in nicely on defense since. 

Featuring two projected playoff teams, this primetime clash should come down to the wire. There's a lot to like about both teams and LSU won the offseason, but I lean Clemson with more returning experience and the home atmosphere advantage. This is the most talented Clemson team we've seen since the ones that knocked off Alabama for national titles, and I'm extremely bullish on Clemson having a real chance to add a third national championship trophy to Swinney's cabinet. Klubnik and the Clemson 1-2 punch of Woods and Parker prove to be too much for an LSU team that will need some game experience to fully mesh its new piece and hit its ceiling. Pick: Clemson ML (-179(

LSU vs. Clemson prediction, pick, odds, spread: Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik battle in marquee opener

John Talty

While there are many compelling storylines surrounding No. 9 LSU's season-opening game against No. 4 Clemson on Saturday, one of the things most of interest to NFL personnel staffers will be the quarterback matchup between the two players whom most league scouts view as the top two quarterback prospects for next year's NFL draft — LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson's Cade Klubnik.

Why pro scouts believe LSU vs. Clemson features 2026 NFL Draft class' top two QB prospects

Matt Zenitz

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has not been shy about high expectations for his program heading into 2025. "I've had one undefeated team... I think we're going to be the first 16-0 team. It's a race to do that," Swinney told ESPN. 

Looking around the roster, this Clemson team looks very similar to Swinney's best teams. Quarterback Cade Klubnik has a case as the nation's best passer and the defensive line is clearly the best. The wide receiver group is finally getting back to historic standards as well, which has been a crucial issue the past few years. 

In so many ways, Clemson hopes this season is a return to form. Reaching the College Football Playoff last season was an important first step. 

LSU invested heavily in its secondary over the offseason after featuring a struggling unit in 2024. The Tigers are high on corner Mansoor Delane (Virginia Tech) and Tamarcus Cooley (NC State) as potential starters. Houston transfer A.J. Haulcy was a projected starter, but will miss the first half after a targeting to end the 2024 season came to light. 

Additionally, keep an eye on defensive back DJ Pickett. The five-star true freshman has been turning heads at cornerback and could be the newest member of DB-U.