LSU Makes Big Jump In ESPN's Power Rankings After Dominant Win Over Clemson

LSU made a significant jump in ESPN's updated college football power rankings following its dominant season-opening win over Clemson.

The Tigers moved from No. 10 in ESPN's preseason rankings to No. 7 after crushing Clemson 51-10 in Lane Kiffin's LSU debut.

LSU outgained Clemson 644-145, handing Dabo Swinney the worst loss of his head coaching career.

ESPN's David Hale praised LSU's performance and noted that the offseason noise surrounding Kiffin clearly didn't affect the Tigers once they took the field.

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7. LSU Tigers
Preseason ranking: 10

It's going to take more than a few controversial headlines to disrupt what Kiffin is building at LSU. The buzz in the weeks leading up to the Tigers' opener was all about Kiffin's very public fight with commissioner Greg Sankey, the SEC, numerous lawmakers and, seemingly, his own best interests. But that was silly. Kiffin thrives when he's trolling the masses, and LSU showed that no amount of public scorn would even begin to disrupt Kiffin's debut in Baton Rouge, with the Tigers utterly dominating Clemson, 51-10, and handing Dabo Swinney his worst loss as a head coach. Not bad, as Kiffin said afterward, for a team supposedly focused on other things. -- David Hale

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LSU will look to build on the impressive start when it hosts Louisiana Tech in Week 2.