BATON ROUGE, La. -- There is a quiet anticipation inside the newly expanded LSU football operations center, even though the season is still months away. In the weight room, players go through the summer conditioning program, hollering encouragement and straining to hit unique benchmarks assigned to them. They have a singular focus taking hold.
On the screens around them, when they break down the end of a workout or when they text each other in group chats, all they see is "1-0." Everyone in the building knows what that means: Beat Clemson in the season opener.
Upstairs, Ya'el Lofton bustles about her desk, waiting for coach Brian Kelly to arrive.