LSU spent the week before its opener in a Louisiana courtroom and in an exchange of statements with the SEC over the eligibility of former NFL players on college rosters. Lane Kiffin's first team then beat Clemson 51-10 in Baton Rouge on Saturday night, and he brought the argument up himself at halftime.
With LSU ahead 31-3 and holding a 336-54 edge in total yards at the break, Kiffin finished his interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe, started to walk away, then came back to the microphone and said, "Imagine if we had pro players."
Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Two days earlier, East Baton Rouge Parish Judge William Jorden granted a preliminary injunction barring the NCAA and the SEC from punishing schools that rostered any of the 42 athletes suing for a fifth season of eligibility, which cleared former Ole Miss players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to follow Kiffin to Baton Rouge. The SEC filed its own federal lawsuit against LSU and Kiffin in Alabama that same morning. LSU submitted a 103-man roster on Friday and left the two spots empty.
Kiffin explained that decision on ESPN's "College GameDay" hours before kickoff.

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