A close loss at home left Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney to study film of the Tigers’ loss to LSU, and generate a metaphor winning coach Brian Kelly invited his counterpart to punt.

LSU defeated Clemson 17-10, but Swinney likened the matchup of preseason top-10 teams to starting a class with a final exam.

“It was a hell of a game,” Swinney said Monday. “It’s like getting a final exam, Day 1 of class. They made a 65. We made a 58. Neither one of us were great.”

Kelly won an opener at LSU for the first time and didn’t take the grading curve suggestion lightly on Tuesday.

“Well, I mean … I thought we dominated them in the second half. So, he’s either a really good grader for giving himself a 58, or he’s a really hard grader on us,” Kelly said. “Or he didn’t see the second half, which that might be the case. He might not have wanted to see the second half.”

Kelly and LSU jumped to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll on Tuesday and Clemson dipped from No. 4 to No. 8. Kelly said the focus is no longer on the win, but building on it.

“Look, this is all past. We’re much more focused on Louisiana Tech, to be quite honest with you,” Kelly said. “Clemson is a darn good football team. I mean, that’s a really good, that’s a top-notch team and they’re going to be a team in the hunt for the playoff picture, and we hope we are too.”

–Field Level Media