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College football championship: Famous alumni

LSU and Clemson are set to face each other in the College Football Playoff title game on Jan. 13. Here's a look at the most famous alumni from both schools.

1 of 21

Better Than Ezra

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The popular 1990s alt-rock band Better Than Ezra formed while attending LSU in 1988. The band has six Billboard Top 100 hits, including "Good," "In the Blood" and "Desperately Wanting."

2 of 21

Lee Brice

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Brice attended Clemson on a football scholarship before going into country music. He's won several awards, including 2012 CMA New Artist of the Year and Grammy Awards in 2014 for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.

3 of 21

James Carville

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One of LSU's most public boosters, Carville is a democratic political consultant and media personality, most notably remembered as a strategist for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. He attended LSU for both undergrad and law school.

4 of 21

Bill Conti

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If you've never heard of Conti, you've almost certainly heard his film scores, which include "Rocky," "Karate Kid" and "The Right Stuff." He graduated from LSU and also attended the Julliard School of Music.

5 of 21

James Dickey

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Dickey left Clemson after one semester to enlist in the Army Air Corps. He's best known for writing "Deliverance," and he also appeared in the movie.

 

6 of 21

Andi Dorfman

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A 2009 alum of LSU, Dorfman appeared as a contestant on "The Bachelor" and was the lead in the 10th season of "The Bachelorette." She's also a lawyer.

7 of 21

John Edwards

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Edwards attended Clemson before transferring to NC State. He represented North Carolina in the U.S. Senate and was the democratic nominee for vice president in 2004.

8 of 21

Nikki Haley

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Haley was the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. She graduated from Clemson with a bachelor's degree in accounting.

 

9 of 21

Hubert Humphrey

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Humphrey was the 38th vice president of the United States, serving under President Lyndon Johnson. He also served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota. He obtained a master's degree from LSU.

10 of 21

Lolo Jones

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Jones competed in both hurdles and bobsled in the Olympics after a terrific career as a hurdler at LSU. While she never won an Olympic medal, Jones won two World Indoor Championship gold medals in the 60 meter hurdles as well as a gold medal in the 2013 World Championships in the mixed team bobsled.

11 of 21

Don Lemon

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Lemon is best known as the host of "CNN Tonight" and has been with the news network since 2006. He attended Brooklyn College and LSU.

12 of 21

Dolph Lundgren

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Lundgren attended Clemson and Washington State, among others. A famous action star, he's best known for playing Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV."

13 of 21

Pete Maravich

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One of the greatest players in NCAA Division I basketball history, Maravich is the all-time leading scoring, with 3,667 points and a 44.2 points per game average for LSU. "Pistol Pete" also made five NBA All-Star teams.

14 of 21

Nancy O'Dell

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O'Dell, a former co-anchor of "Entertainment Tonight," graduated summa cum laude from Clemson with a degree in marketing.

15 of 21

Shaquille O'Neal

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O'Neal is one of the most dominating centers in basketball history, winning four NBA championships, making 15 All-Star appearances and winning the 2000 MVP. He was the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft after three seasons at LSU. He's now an NBA analyst for TNT and a popular product pitchman. 

16 of 21

Rex Reed

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Reed is one of the most prominent film critics in American media history. He earned a journalism degree from LSU in 1960.

17 of 21

George H. Ross

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One of Donald Trump's advisers on the "The Apprentice," Ross attended Clemson University but earned his bachelor's from Brooklyn College.

18 of 21

Strom Thurmond

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Thurmond graduated from Clemson in 1923 with a degree in horticulture. He served in the United States Senate for 48 years and ran for president in 1948. He also was elected governor of South Carolina in 1946.

19 of 21

Mark Tremonti

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Tremonti is best known as the guitarist of Creed and lead guitarist of Alter Bridge. He attended Clemson as a freshman before transferring to Florida State.

20 of 21

James Michael Tyler

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Tyler played Gunther in the hit show "Friends." He earned a degree in geology from Clemson in 1984.

21 of 21

Joanne Woodward

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Woodward won an Oscar for Best Actress for her work in the 1957 film "The Three Faces of Eve." During her acting career, Woodward, wife of 50 years to Paul Newman, was nominated for four Oscars and 10 Golden Globe Awards. She majored in drama at LSU.

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