By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – Against the backdrop of the SEC filing a federal lawsuit vs. LSU on Thursday morning followed by a Baton Rouge judge delivering a favorable preliminary injunction ruling Thursday night for Tigers’ football program, No. 11 LSU and No. 23 Clemson will finally play a season-opener here Saturday night.
LSU first-year head coach Lane Kiffin has spent most of the last two weeks defending why the school sought an injunction to allow an NFL rookies cut in training camp to return to college because of mid-June NCAA ruling restoring a fifth year of eligibility for Class of 2022 players.
“I feel my decisions should always be made in the best interest of the players that sit in this team room, and not, but for my reputation and how the decisions play in the national media or other fan bases,” said Kiffin earlier this week before having no comment on Thursday’s ruling. “I’ve never been that way, and that could be wrong. It’s probably part of my story why it is the way it is. But those players and the people that hire me always know I’m constantly trying to do the best thing for them.”
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has watched the legal circus from afar with disgusted amusement.
“I don’t blame the kids and people trying to take advantage of the system,” he said. “I just think it’s embarrassing where we are with college football, and we’ve been there for a while.
“It’s a joke. There’s no governance. And when you enforce rules, somebody just goes and finds a judge to say, no, you can’t enforce that rule. I never did think I’d be living in an era like this. But that’s where we are. You hope eventually there’ll be some different things come down the pipe.”
Thursday’s ruling by Baton Rouge judge William Jorden applies to athletes only named in the suit. Two of them – former Ole Miss starters under Kiffin last season, now LSU commits tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris – are eligible to be added to the Tigers’ roster for Saturday’ s game.
Wright and Harris disputed in Thursday’s testimony how much they practiced in NFL training camps and how much they were paid.
Harris is still nursing a foot injury he suffered in the New Orleans Saints preseason camp and probably won’t be healthy enough to play for at least two more weeks. Wright has practiced all week and is ready for action.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey also testified in person for three hours on Thursday. He emphasized the league’s rule banning former pros from joining conference schools was in place before LSU’s push to add fifth-year seniors.
Once LSU sought a temporary restraining order last week, presidents of the 16 league schools retaliated. They approved harsher penalties for any schools signing and using pros in game competition. Included are a half-season suspension for a team’s head coach and a fine of 50 percent of the sport’s operating budget.
Of his Thursday ruling, Jorden told the SEC, “I’m showing you I’ve got a big gun.”
If the SEC enforces its rule barring professionals, it would be in violation of a Louisiana court order. The SEC filed a federal suit against LSU to seek the legal protection it needs to impose penalties on any member program that violates its rules.
The SEC’s lawsuit claimed that the school executed “a deliberate and coordinated campaign” to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU. Named as defendants are Kiffin, athletics director Verge Ausberry, school president Wade Rousse and the school’s Board of Supervisors.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill described the SEC’s lawsuit as “garbage.”
LSU senior linebacker Whit Weeks said earlier this week the off-field legal soap opera had no effect on a team hell-bent and focused on the immediate task at hand.
“I don’t think that our team is distracted at all, or that we really hear the outside noise,” Weeks said. “We’re focused on, on what we’re focused on.
“(Strength) Coach (Nick) Savage and Coach Kiffin have put us kind of through the ringer in the past three months. You can’t really worry about what’s going on outside of here because every time you come up here, you know you’re in for a rough day of work.”
No. 11 LSU vs. No. 23 Clemson, Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Saturday, 6:49 p.m. (ABC-TV)
Last game for Clemson: It ended the 2025 season at 7-6 with a 22-10 loss to Penn State in Pinstripe Bowl.
Series record and last meeting: LSU leads 4-1. Last season in the season opener at then-No. 4 Clemson, then-No. 9 LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier threw for 230 yards and a TD, RB Caden Durham ran for 74 yards and a TD in a 17-10 road win.
Clemson head coach: Dabo Swinney (187-53 in 18 seasons overall and at Clemson).
THIS AND THAT
Betting line: LSU by 10
Betting tip: Clemson is 1-5 against the spread in the last five games vs. SEC opponents.
Terms of game contract: $500,000 guarantee for Clemson
Number of Louisiana natives on Clemson roster: 1 (DT Devarrick Woods from Bossier City and Airline HS, a transfer from Texas State)
Number of South Carolina natives on LSU roster: 3
Number of transfers on the Clemson roster from 4-year schools: 17 players from 16 schools.
CLEMSON PLAYERS TO WATCH (2025 stats shown)
QB Christopher Vizzina Jr. (45-of-71 for 406 passing yards, 4 TDs and 1 interception and 25 rushes for 41 yards, WR T.J. Moore (52 catches for 837 receiving yards, four Yds), WR Bryant Wesco (31 catches for 537 receiving yards and 6 TDs), LB Jeremiah Alexander (36 tackles (11 solo), 1 sacks, 3 PBU for Alabama), DE Jahiem Lawson (24 tackles, 6 TFL, 3½ sacks, 3 PBU, (64 tackles, 4½ TFL, 2½ sacks), PK Nolan Hauser Jr. 17 of 21 FG, 38 of 38 PATs, P Jack Smith (50 for 41.4 ypk, 2 touchbacks, 24 fair catches, 22 inside the 20, 5 punt of 50 yards plus).
DID YOU KNOW. . .
First-year LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has a 20-4 record in college season openers including 10-4 as head coach (1-0 Tennessee, 4-0 USC, 0-3 Florida Atlantic, 5-1 Ole Miss) and 10-0 as an assistant (6-0 USC, 4-0 Alabama).
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia.com