Saturday night's game in Baton Rouge is not just about Clemson going on the road to take on No. 11 LSU. It is a test of whether college football still has a line it will not cross in the pursuit of wins.
Background going into Saturday night
Judge William Jorden granted a preliminary injunction that cleared former NFL signees (tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris) to return to college football. The SEC then sued LSU, Kiffin and school officials on that same day (after the conference had already made a rule against pro players returning to college sports).
Clemson's general counsel also warned LSU that rostering those players could breach the game contract. LSU left both men off the official roster for tonight.
Tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris
Wright and Harris aren't the only players attempting a return to college football, so it would be unfair to paint them in such a light. But, for the sake of this game, they are singled out.
Wright caught 39 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns at Ole Miss last season under Kiffin. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent, later joined the Cleveland Browns, and was waived Aug. 24.
Harris signed with the New Orleans Saints on May 1 and was waived on Aug. 8.
The debate around the players returning from the pros is ongoing
As mentioned earlier, there are players at plenty of programs who have returned to the college game and not received the same amount of scrutiny as LSU. But this could present a competition problem and define the season if it continues.
If Clemson can take care of business, the program that was late to the NIL era, will have taken down the poster child for the new wave of roster building. And maybe that means something.
Why Miami and the ACC are pulling for Clemson
Miami opened Friday with a 45-6 win at Stanford. While it was against another ACC team, it was still a showcase of the top-end talent for the conference. The ACC has been overlooked, and frankly, pretty disappointing outside of Miami (and SMU) over the last few seasons.
Clemson getting a major non-conference win would go a long way this year for the ACC. And for Miami, that could give the Hurricanes another ranked matchup on the slate if they keep winning prior to the matchup.
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