"We've circled that game" - LSU HC Brian Kelly gets blunt on challenge of facing Dabo Swinney's Clemson in season opener 

Brian Kelly is preparing his LSU Tigers for what is going to be a make-or-break season for himself and the stars on the roster. After years of not being able to make the College Football Playoff and last year's late-season collapse, it seems that no one associated with LSU can risk another poor season.

However, the schedule does not help them. LSU opens its season against the Clemson Tigers, the ACC champions, in what is likely to be a pivotal game for both teams.

On Tuesday, Kelly went on the "College Gameday Podcast" and was asked about how he has been preparing for the opener against Clemson.

"We've circled the game. I've never done that before on openers. It's all over our weight room. It's all over our workouts. We're doing the kumbaiyah of 'We're playing Clemson, and we're got to beat Clemson.'" (26:40)

This game is not going to have a massive impact on the SEC or ACC standings, as non-conference games do not count. However, the result may go far in terms of deciding if each team makes or does not make the college football playoff.

If both LSU and Clemson finish with the same record, the selection committee may look to the clash between the two as the "tiebreaker" for the spot in the playoffs.

LSU needs to come out of this game victorious, and Kelly is preparing his team in a way to ensure this. However, it is not going to be easy. LSU is on the road, going to Clemson in a primetime game under the lights. To add to the atmosphere, the eyes of the nation will be on this game as ESPN is set to broadcast it.

This is going to be a hard test for Kelly, who will need to prove that this LSU team (led by star quarterback and potential Heisman Trophy candidate Garrett Nussmeier) can compete against the best.

A win would prove this and set them up for what could be a strong season by the Tigers in the SEC. In case of a loss, this season may be a little bit harder, and the notion that Brian Kelly is on the "hot seat" will only grow.

LSU season openers have not been easy games

This game continues a series of season openers for LSU that are against much stronger opponents than their rivals. Normally, we see the larger programs face schools from weaker conferences to open their season in what is a guaranteed win.

There have been exceptions to this, but LSU seems to face like-for-like teams on a much more frequent basis than its rivals.

This year's it's Clemson. Last year, it was the USC Trojans, and before that, it was the Florida State Seminoles (who would have an undefeated ACC regular season that year).

These are not easy opponents to face. To make things worse for LSU, they were defeated in all of these games and have not won an opener since 2019, when they defeated Georgia Southern