No. 9 LSU's recent Week 1 misery adds stakes to opening showdown at No. 4 Clemson

No team in college football needs a win in Week 1 more than the LSU Tigers. 

And not because their playoff hopes hinge on a road victory at the Associated Press No. 4 Clemson Tigers. Rather, after years of futility to start the season, No. 9 LSU needs a win to prove this year is any different.

Head coach Brian Kelly, entering his fourth season as LSU head coach, is 0-3 in Week 1 since fleeing South Bend for Baton Rouge in November 2021. But the Tigers' struggles aren't a recent phenomenon under Kelly. LSU hasn't won in Week 1 since its 2019 national championship season.

The program's five-game Week 1 losing streak is its longest since 1991-95, when it followed a loss to Georgia with four consecutive against Texas A&M.

But that was back when LSU was an afterthought, mired in six consecutive losing seasons. 

These Tigers aren't any slouches. 

With the talent Kelly has accumulated, it should absolutely be better from the outset. He said as much in July, telling reporters, "With the team that we have...it's unacceptable for us not to play our very best in Game 1.

"This is a singular goal...It's a difficult goal but it's in front of them, and they've got a clock running," Kelly added.

From 1996-2019, LSU had a sterling 21-2 Week 1 record (a 2015 home game against McNeese State was canceled due to inclement weather), with some impressive wins over AP preseason top 25 teams, including at No. 15 Arizona State in 2005, No. 3 Oregon in 2011 and No. 8 Miami in 2018, the latter two at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

Those statement victories propelled LSU to double-digit win seasons, including a BCS title game appearance in 2011. A win on Saturday against Clemson might send the Tigers to similarly lofty heights.

It would certainly put LSU on the inside track to a College Football Playoff berth. Perhaps more importantly, it would also signify massive growth.

If there has been one constant during the team's 0-5 Week 1 mark this decade, it's been a troubling lack of defensive production. The offense hasn't been the issue, averaging 307.6 passing yards and 25.6 points per game.

The defense has consistently let the Tigers down, starting with allowing an SEC-record 623 pass yards to former Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello in 2020. Overall, the LSU defense has allowed an average of 489.6 yards (376 passing, 113.6 rushing) and 35.6 points per game during the losing streak.

Clemson's offense, which returns senior quarterback Cade Klubnik and his top three receivers from a season ago (junior Antonio Williams and sophomores T.J. Moore and Bryant Wesco Jr.), is more than capable of exposing any deficiencies in LSU's defense. If LSU leaves Memorial Stadium with a win, the maligned unit will have likely made multiple key stops, which would be a massive leap after being exposed the past five seasons.

For most teams, Week 1 is just one game. The SEC likes to say, "It just means more," and nowhere is that more true than with LSU this weekend.