After months of anticipation, buildup and fanfare, the Lane Kiffin era will finally kick off on Saturday night as No. 11 LSU hosts Clemson for a blockbuster showdown inside legendary Tiger Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 6:49 p.m. CT on ABC and the LSU Sports Radio Network. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be on the broadcast call, while Chris Blair, Jacob Hester and Gordy Rush will anchor the radio airwaves.
College GameDay also returns to Baton Rouge and will be taping live from The Quad. The iconic show will be celebrating the program's 500th road broadcast with guest picker Lainey Wilson, Grammy Award-winning country music superstar.
Callin' Baton Rouge@laineywilson is the Guest Picker for the 500th @CollegeGameDay show pic.twitter.com/VrGbyBkKCV
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 3, 2026
“I’m humbled to be here as LSU’s head coach,” Kiffin said. “I don’t take that lightly. I hope the way that we’ve worked, the time we’ve put in, and the preparation we’ve done over these eight months is what people brought us here to do.”
The Tigers, who signed the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country to complement a collection of key returners, boast another talented roster in 2026.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt comes to Baton Rouge with over 4,000 yards passing and 900 yards rushing under his belt, winning 80% of his games (16-4) as a starter at Arizona State. The running back room is loaded, adding transfers Dillin Jones and Stacy Gage and returning the production of Harlem Berry and Caden Durham. At receiver, it’s pick your poison. Transfers Eugene Wilson III, Winston Watkins Jr., Jayce Brown and Malik Elzy bring new energy to the room, while Trey’Dez Green and Phillip Wright III return for their junior and redshirt freshman years, respectively. In the trenches, LSU added the No. 1 lineman in the portal in Jordan Seaton and also returned center Braelin Moore for his second season in Baton Rouge.
"I'm going to embrace the moment for a little bit because you're not going to get many opportunities to play in Tiger Stadium at night,” said Leavitt on his first game. “So it's going to be special. You definitely have to soak it in, and then you have to relock in and focus up."
Defensively, Blake Baker returns to the sidelines for his third year. He leads an uber talented group into 2026, headlined by senior linebacker Whit Weeks and transfer senior safety Ty Benefield, who joins the Tigers after three standout seasons at Boise State. The unit also added linebacker TJ Dottery and edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen.
The secondary is stacked with the return on DJ Pickett, PJ Woodland, Dashawn Spears and Tamarcus Cooley. The defensive front added three of the top freshmen in the country with Deuce Geralds, Lamar Brown and Richard Anderson, who will accompany Dominick McKinley and Dylan Carpenter in the trenches.
“All of them have a chance to play,” Kiffin said on the three freshmen. “It's really exciting in an age where people play older portal players."
Last week, Weeks and Green were awarded the coveted No. 7, given annually to a playmaker. Moore, LSU’s starting center, was awarded the prestigious No. 18, given annually to a team leader. It marked the second time the number was given to an offensive lineman (the first coming in 2019 with National Champion center Lloyd Cushenberry). Moore will continue to wear No. 61 on gamedays and will have a No. 18 patch on his jersey.
A New Era Begins pic.twitter.com/HIaZD35njW
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 2, 2026
Clemson will be led on Saturday by quarterback Christopher Vizzina, who enters 2026 having completed 64-of-105 passes for 596 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in 238 career offensive snaps over 14 games and one start. The Tigers return talented WRs with Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore, who led the team in receiving when Clemson faced LSU in the opener in 2025. Sophomore Gideon Davidson is expected to start at running back, returning to the team after tallying 260 yards on 60 carries a year ago.
Linebacker Sammy Brown returns as Clemson’s leading tackler after recording 106 in 2025 with five sacks, a forced fumble and an interception.
“Really tough opponent in Clemson,” Kiffin said. “Very well coached and a veteran staff that have won a lot of games. Dabo is one of the best to ever do it. So this is a great matchup that we are excited to be a part of.”
LSU leads the overall series, 4-1, which includes last year’s 17-10 win at Clemson in the season-opener. Saturday will also mark the fourth consecutive year LSU’s season-opener will be televised on ABC.