ESPN Analyst Predicts Clemson's Upset Chances vs LSU
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One of the biggest games from the Week 1 schedule in college football comes from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Clemson Tigers will be hitting the road, entering the hostile Tiger Stadium for a matchup with the LSU Tigers. This game will finish off the home-and-home matchup between the two teams, with the first game being played a year ago.
LSU went on the road last season, taking down the Tigers 17-10. Now, Clemson has a chance to get some revenge against LSU while spoiling Lane Kiffin's debut as the new head coach of the program.
Most people are picking LSU to win this game, with ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy doing so as well, but believing the game will be closer than expected. McElroy has Clemson staying in the game, despite the hostile environment.
"No single number gets Dabo Swinney under a 40% win percentage. He does not get run out of the building," McElroy said. "Not by anybody. So take LSU, and you can have the 10.5 points. I think they win it, but I don't know if I feel comfortable with them running the Clemson Tigers out of the building. Because if you look at how they've fared, they've been great at home. 27-straight home wins against unranked opponents. They're 91-12 at home at night since 2006."
"And a first-time starter in a big game like this walking into Tiger Stadium at night versus a defense that's built to slam the door? It's going to be tough sledding for sure…LSU gets it done, but it's by closer than what the experts think."
Clemson has its work cut out for it in this game, with LSU being the higher-rated team. But Clemson was the "better" team a year ago, and LSU was able to steal the victory.
Playing at Tiger Stadium will be tough for Clemson, with head coach Dabo Swinney even discussing the noise level prior to the game. But this Clemson team will be as prepared as possible, giving them a decent chance to pull off the upset.
If Clemson could find a way to win the game, it would help set the tone for the rest of the season. Clemson wants to get back to the College Football Playoff, and a win over LSU would set them up very well.
Swinney would get some respect back if he could find a way to steal this game, especially after a few rough seasons. This is a gut-check game for Clemson, and it could create all sorts of positivity around the program if a win can be had.
But for now, the team will take things one game at a time, starting with this monster of a season opener against LSU.
The game between the two sides will kick off this Saturday at 4:30 p.m PT/7:30 p.m. ET.
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