Desmond Howard sounds warning to LSU on Clemson: ‘They’re coming in here to make a statement’
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Desmond Howard is well aware that LSU might have the advantage on paper over Clemson in Saturday night’s showdown in Baton Rouge.
The SEC‘s Tigers are a double-digit favorite over the ACC‘s Tigers, and LSU is getting a 75.3% chance according to ESPN’s FPI to put aside all the distractions surrounding this battle and come away with a 1-0 record in Lane Kiffin‘s debut.
This Week 1 showdown was already a headliner, with LSU and Clemson kicking things off at about 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC under the lights at Tiger Stadium. There’s 2 high-profile programs with 2 high-profile head coaches in Kiffin and Dabo Swinney, and a national TV audience will see what way LSU takes things in the NFL-to-college players controversy that is gripping the sport as the season gets started.
But hold on 1 minute, says Howard, the former Michigan star and current ESPN college football analyst. LSU might be at home and have more talent on paper, regardless of who suits up on Saturday night and who doesn’t. Having said that, Clemson shouldn’t be counted out, pleaded Howard on Friday as ESPN broke down the matchup hours before College GameDay comes to viewers from Baton Rouge.
“Dabo and those guys, they’re not getting on the plane and just going to roll their helmets out there and let LSU roll over them (Saturday night),” Howard said. “They’re coming in here to make a statement.”
Howard touched on the whole battle of Death Valley, too, since Clemson and LSU both play in intimidating stadiums that are nicknamed “Death Valley.”
“(Clemson) thinks they have the best Death Valley and they’re the real Tigers,” Howard said.
Howard’s warning to LSU aside, the Kalshi market is currently saying that Clemson will have an uphill battle on Saturday night in that other Death Valley as the SEC and ACC programs collide in a Week 1 showdown:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
