BATON ROUGE – After a delayed start due to inclement weather, No. 11 LSU came out and dominated Clemson in all three phases on Saturday night in Death Valley, 51-10, behind 644 yards of total offense, a standout performance from quarterback Sam Leavitt, and a dominating effort from the defense.
Leavitt finished the game with 230 yards passing and 113 yards rushing, tallying three total touchdowns (two rushing, one passing). He and Dillin Jones – who also finished with 113 yards on the ground – led the team in rushing.
The Tigers return to action at home next Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. CT kick against in-state opponent Louisiana Tech.
Game Recap
On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Sam Leavitt found Eugune Wilson III for an 8-yard pass. However, on the next play, Leavitt’s pass to Malik Elzy was dropped, deflected and intercepted by Ashton Hampton and returned one yard to the LSU 33.
Clemson would go three-and-out, but would connect on a 49-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser to take an early 3-0 lead with 13:28 remaining in the first quarter.
On LSU’s second offensive possession, Leavitt found some rhythm, both in the passing game and the running game, finding Trey’Dez Green for a 21-yard connection over the middle of the field to the Clemson 48. On the next play, Winston Watkins took a keeper 14 yards to the 34-yard line. However, on 3rd-and-7, Leavitt’s pass to Green was tipped, forcing a field goal.
Scott Starzyk booted a 48-yard attempt to square the game at 3 with 10:16 to go in the first quarter.
The Tigers then put together a methodical 89-yard scoring drive on 12 plays, relying heavily on running back Dillin Jones and Leavitt’s legs. The drive featured runs of 12, 14 and 15, culminating in a 1-yard TD rush from Jones, his first as a Tiger. Jones already had 60 yards on 10 carries at that point. LSU led Clemson 10-3 at the 3:36 mark in the first quarter.
Death Valley was loud, and it got louder. On 3rd-and-6 from the Clemson 25, Christopher Vizzina’s pass was picked off by junior defensive end Jordan Ross and returned 30 yards for a touchdown, giving LSU a 17-3 advantage with 2:16 to play in the first quarter. It marked the first pick six for LSU since Dashawn Spears vs. Florida on 9/13/25 (58 yards).
Looking to add to their lead, the Tigers put together an 8-play, 36-yard drive, but the effort came up empty after Starzyk’s 48-yard field goal attempt was wide right, keeping the LSU lead at 17-3 with 12:15 to play in the second quarter.
The offense didn’t stop. Leavitt and the Tigers extended their lead to 24-3 after Leavitt scrambled, made a few defenders miss, and barreled into the south end zone. It capped a 9-play, 72-yard drive, highlighted by a 20-yard pass to Winston Watkins Jr. and an 18-yard connection to Green. It was all LSU with 7:54 to play in the second quarter.
LSU extended its lead to 31-3 after Leavitt once again ran for a 13-yard QB keeper, moving his rushing totals to 100 yards on 11 carries with two scoring rushes. He went into halftime as the Tigers’ leading rusher, slightly ahead of Jones who had 91 yards on 18 carries with a TD.
The scoring would continue. On 3rd-and-5 from the Clemson 32, Leavitt found a wide open Winston Watkins Jr. for a 32-yard TD connection, giving LSU a commanding 38-3 lead over Clemson with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter. It capped a 9-play, 69-yard drive that spanned four minutes and 13 seconds.
On their next offensive possession, Jones would find the end zone a second time with a 12-yard rushing score, extending the LSU lead to 44-3 with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter. It capped a 78-yard drive on six plays. The Tigers elected to go for the two-point conversion, but failed to convert. It marked the first time since 2023 LSU has had two 100-yard rushers in the same game (Leavitt, 113; Jones, 113). Last time was Logan Diggs (24/134) and Jayden Daniels (15/130) against Missouri.
Landen Clark entered the game at QB for LSU at the 1:52 mark of the third quarter, ending Leavitt’s debut.
Clark added to the scoring explosion with a 30-yard touchdown connection to Phillip Wright with 6:52 to play in the contest, extending the Tigers' lead to 51-3.
With 3:21 remaining, Clemson finally found paydirt as David Eziomume rushed for an 11-yard touchdown, making it 51-10.