Brian Kelly won 10 games in his first two seasons at LSU, but that total fell to nine wins a year ago, raising some speculation that his tenure may have peaked.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney planned to keep the story to himself until his Tigers faced LSU on August 30 in Atlanta. Over the summer, while vacationing in Florida, Swinney was told that Brian Kelly’s wife owned a souvenir shop near the beach he was visiting.

Opening-game problems have become a symbol for LSU falling short. The 2025 opener against Clemson is a chance to "change the narrative."

That’s a sharp contrast to Alabama, which hasn’t played an in-state non-conference opponent since it faced Howard College (now Samford) in 1944. The Crimson Tide does face in-state SEC rival Auburn each year, as it has done since 1948.