Clemson vs. LSU live updates: Prediction, odds and latest from Week 1 college football game

With quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and head coach Brian Kelly at the helm, LSU entered 2025 ranked ninth in the country and held lofty expectations.

Neither Nussmeier nor his coach made it through the season.

Kelly was fired midway through the season, and Nussmeier missed the final three games of the season with an oblique injury. LSU’s season looked promising after the Tigers’ win over No. 4 Clemson on the road and a 4-0 start, but a stretch with four losses in a span of five games spelled the end of Kelly’s time in Baton Rouge.

LSU finished the regular season 7-5, with losses to ranked Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma teams and finished the season with a loss to Houston in the Texas Bowl.

In November, LSU made a major splash and restored some of the excitement by making Lane Kiffin its head coach.