Lane Kiffin Drops Brutally Honest Quote After LSU's Win vs. Clemson, 'My Job Is Not to Please You'

LSU coach Lane Kiffin was thankful his team delivered such an emphatic performance in Saturday's 51-10 victory over Clemson given the off-field drama that has surrounded the program in recent weeks.

"Because I get it, even if we won close and ugly, the whole story would have been, 'Man, I screwed the team up by doing this,'" he told reporters , referring to LSU's attempt to add two players recently released by NFL teams. "I've been criticized heavily the last two weeks and I get that, I understand that. But my job is not to please you and worry about what you're going to write. My job is what I believe is right, and I believe we were fighting for what was right for those kids.

"I'm not going to get into all the reasons, but that's what I believe. Maybe people don't like that, but they don't understand that."

Leading up to the game, much of the focus was on the status of tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris. Both players committed to play for LSU after failing to make the final cut for their respective NFL squads.

Kiffin opted against activating both as the matter remains subject to ongoing litigation.

On the basis of Saturday night, the Tigers may not need more help.

Quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 230 yards, one touchdown and one interception while running for 113 yards and two scores in his first start with the team. Dilin Jones, who transferred in from Wisconsin, matched Leavitt's output on the ground.

The LSU defense, meanwhile, limited Clemson to 145 total yards and held its opponent to 1-of-13 on third downs.

Leavitt credited his teammates for ignoring all of the off-field discourse.

"With all the noise throughout the offseason, we really have done an incredible job of blocking it out," he said. "It's never even been a thought process in the building. It's not even like we've had to hush people. We come to work, we put our heads down, and we grind."

Absent a resolution, the story isn't going away, though, and the scrutiny will likely intensify if Wright and Harris make their LSU debuts. That may not make much of a difference to the Tigers players.