College football has a funny way of changing the meaning of a game after it has already been played.

When LSU dismantled Clemson 51–10 in Baton Rouge on September 5, it was easy to look at the result and wonder just how good Clemson really was. Maybe LSU had simply caught a struggling team at the right time. Maybe Clemson was nowhere near the program we have grown accustomed to seeing.

A month later, we have a little more information.

Miami walked into Clemson Saturday night and came away with an impressive 41–13 victory of its own.

And suddenly LSU's earlier performance deserves another look.

Let's make one thing clear: Miami's victory was impressive.

Winning at Clemson is never something to dismiss. Miami faced a Clemson team that had recovered from its opening loss to LSU, won three consecutive games and appeared to be finding some stability.

Miami controlled the game, pressured Clemson's quarterback, forced turnovers and ultimately pulled away for a convincing 28-point victory.

That is the kind of road win that belongs on a College Football Playoff résumé.

But it still wasn't what LSU did to Clemson.

LSU Didn't Beat Clemson. LSU Overwhelmed Clemson.

The final score tells part of the story:

But the statistics tell an even bigger one.

LSU rolled up approximately 644 yards of offense while Clemson managed only 145. LSU ran 94 offensive plays, controlled the football for more than 36 minutes and averaged nearly seven yards every time it snapped the ball.

Clemson averaged roughly three.

By the end of the third quarter, LSU led 44–3.

That's not surviving a tough opponent.

That's domination.

LSU controlled Clemson on the ground, through the air and at the line of scrimmage. Clemson's offense spent most of the evening trying simply to stay on the field.

The Tigers from South Carolina converted just one of 13 third-down opportunities.

There wasn't much mystery about which team was better that night.

Miami Faced a Different Clemson

There is, however, an important point in Miami's favor.

The Clemson team Miami faced Saturday night wasn't exactly the same Clemson team LSU saw in early September.

Against LSU, Christopher Vizzina started at quarterback and Clemson's offense never really found its footing.

By the time Miami came to town, Tait Reynolds had taken over the offense and Clemson had won three straight games.

Reynolds threw for 295 yards against Miami. Clemson finished with 350 total yards and moved the football considerably better than it had against LSU.

Miami still won comfortably, 41–13, but Clemson competed.

Against LSU, Clemson barely had a chance to breathe.

There is also the matter of location.

LSU had Clemson in Tiger Stadium.

Miami went into Death Valley at Clemson and won.

Road victories like that carry weight.

So if the question is which victory might eventually look better on a playoff résumé, Miami has a legitimate argument.

If the question is which team delivered the more dominant performance against Clemson, however, I don't think the argument is particularly close.

It was LSU.

Clemson's Recovery Actually Helps LSU

Here is the part that may get overlooked.

Clemson winning three straight games after the LSU loss actually made LSU's victory look better.

Immediately following a 51–10 defeat, it is easy to say Clemson simply isn't very good.

But Clemson responded.

The Tigers beat Georgia Southern, North Carolina and California before Miami arrived.

That matters.

It showed that Clemson wasn't completely broken.

Then one of the highest-ranked teams in the country came to Clemson and beat them 41–13.

That result gives us another measuring stick.

Miami dominated Clemson.

LSU dominated Clemson even more.

That doesn't automatically mean LSU is better than Miami. College football doesn't work that neatly, and trying to use comparative scores as an exact science will get you in trouble quickly.

Matchups matter.

Home-field advantage matters.

Injuries matter.

Quarterbacks matter.

Timing matters.

But comparative games can still tell us something.

And what these two games tell me is that LSU's opening performance deserves more credit today than it probably received immediately after the game.

My Scorecard

If I were grading the two performances strictly based on what happened on the field, LSU gets the higher mark.

Miami's win was probably an 8.5 out of 10.

A convincing road victory against a Clemson team that had won three straight games is nothing to sneeze at.

LSU's performance?

I'd give it about a 9.5.

LSU didn't just control Clemson.

For most of the night, LSU erased them.

There is still a long season ahead, and both LSU and Miami will have plenty of opportunities to prove exactly where they belong nationally.

But after watching Miami beat Clemson Saturday night, one thought kept coming back to me:

Maybe that 51–10 LSU victory wasn't telling us how bad Clemson was.

Maybe it was telling us something about how good LSU can be.

And a month later, that win looks a whole lot better than it did on September 5.