LSU coach Lane Kiffin admits he refused to shorten a weather delay, saying Clemson’s visiting locker room gave his team a competitive edge.
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has revealed that he deliberately allowed a lengthy weather delay to continue during his team’s season-opening matchup against Clemson, believing the extended wait could give the Tigers a competitive advantage.
The unusual admission came after LSU dominated Clemson 51-10 in Kiffin’s highly anticipated debut as the program’s head coach. The game at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge was delayed by severe weather and lightning before eventually getting underway.
Kiffin refused to shorten the delay
According to the Fox News/OutKick report, officials gave LSU an opportunity to shorten the delay, but Kiffin chose not to take it.
Instead, Clemson’s players remained in the visiting locker room for the extended delay while both teams waited for conditions to clear.
Kiffin later explained that he believed the conditions inside Clemson’s locker room could work in LSU’s favor.
“That locker room sucks over there,” Kiffin said, according to the report.
The LSU coach suggested that making Clemson wait longer was worth it if it provided even a small advantage.
‘If I think 90 minutes is gonna help us win’
Kiffin did not hide the competitive motivation behind his decision.
He explained that if he believed keeping his team and Clemson in their respective locker rooms for the full delay could help LSU win, he was willing to wait.
“If I think 90 minutes is gonna help us win the game, we’re gonna sit in the locker room for 90 minutes,” Kiffin said.
The comment immediately added another colorful chapter to Kiffin’s first game at LSU, where the coach has already attracted significant attention for his aggressive approach to college football.
LSU destroys Clemson after delay
Whatever effect the weather delay had, LSU ultimately left little doubt about which team was better on the night.
The Tigers overwhelmed Clemson 51-10, producing a dominant offensive and defensive performance in front of more than 100,000 fans at Tiger Stadium.
LSU finished with 644 total yards, while Clemson struggled to generate consistent offense. The Tigers’ defense held Clemson to only 145 total yards, including 40 rushing yards.
The victory gave Kiffin an emphatic start to his LSU tenure.
Kiffin’s competitive mentality on display
The weather-delay decision is unlikely to be remembered as the primary reason LSU won, but it highlighted the mentality Kiffin has brought to Baton Rouge.
The coach has spent the offseason at the center of several controversies, including LSU’s attempt to navigate eligibility questions involving former NFL players. LSU ultimately kept Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris off its roster for the Clemson game despite a court ruling that had temporarily opened the door for them to play.
Kiffin’s willingness to exploit even minor advantages against Clemson showed just how aggressively he approaches preparation and competition.
Clemson had no answer for LSU
Once the game finally began, the weather-delay strategy became almost secondary.
LSU controlled the matchup from the opening stages and pulled away for one of the most lopsided results of the opening weekend.
The victory immediately raised expectations surrounding Kiffin’s first season in Baton Rouge, while Clemson was left searching for answers after one of its most difficult season-opening performances in recent years.
For Kiffin, however, the result was more than just a win. His comments about the locker-room delay offered another glimpse into a coach willing to use every available edge—even an uncomfortable visiting locker room—to help his team succeed.
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