When Clemson heads into the 2026 season at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 5, the jersey colors will look familiar, but the identities of the two programs have undergone a seismic shift.
CBS Sports has described the second leg of this home-and-home series as one of the "most compelling rematches" in college football. It is a game of desperation, coaching turnover, and a clash of philosophies that could define the complexion of the whole national landscape.
The stakes for Clemson are historically high. To begin their third consecutive season, Dabo Swinney needs to stop a bad streak of three consecutive season-opening losses. To do so, he will have to cross the "Death Valley" South and knock out an LSU team that just completed the biggest coaching heist of the decade. This, of course, also requires him getting his eyes on LSU. The sideline optics on the sidelines in Baton Rouge will be jarring. After LSU’s 17-10 win over Clemson last year failed to save Brian Kelly’s job, the Bayou Bengals swung for the fences, poaching Lane Kiffin from SEC rival Ole Miss. Kiffin wasn’t walking alone.
Taking the nation’s top-ranked transfer class with him, “The Portal King” is going to debut what is a high-octane offense that seems like a shocker compared to the gritty style of 2025. Swinney, feeling the heat following a 7-6 season, responded with a blast from the past.
Former offensive coordinator Chad Morris returns to the Clemson staff following a 12-year odyssey, responsible for rejuvenating the “high-speed, high-stress” offense that played a key role in the program’s rise to dominance in the first place.
Of equal surprise to the coaching hires, maybe, is Swinney’s suddenly dramatic changes in roster construction. For the first time in his 18-year career, Swinney pulled together additions of the double digits using the transfer portal, most likely so more defense would be able to enter Year 2 under coordinator Tom Allen
But national analysts remain unconvinced.
“Kiffin will be strongly favored to defeat the other Tigers, who continue to trend in the wrong direction under Dabo Swinney's watch,” CBS Sports reported, citing Clemson’s loss of numerous NFL-caliber starters in the draft.
And the betting markets echo that skepticism.
FanDuel currently puts LSU as an 11.5-point favorite, a massive spread in a game involving two stars.
Clemson’s recent lead on marquee openers is a dark cloud hanging over the program. In their past three openers against ranked opponents, they are still 0-3, and they haven’t beaten a Top 25 team to start a season since 2013.
This isn’t simply a game for them; it’s a referendum on Swinney’s ability to adapt. If a Morris-led offense and portal-talent infusion can tear Clemson through a Kiffin-led LSU, the “Dabo is done” narrative will die instantly.
If they fall to an 0-1 start for a fourth consecutive year, the cries for a change of the guard in Clemson will grow louder. There is one thing for sure: On Sept. 5, the college football world will be tuned to which version of “Death Valley” really holds the power.