Clemson vs LSU Prediction: Ladies and Gentlemen, Lane Kiffin
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Alright, America, let’s do this.
It’s Lane Kiffin, and all his norm-busting, establishment-trolling, groundbreaking ways of doing things. Either you think he’s everything that’s wrong with the modern era of college football, or you wish he was your head coach and doing everything humanly possible to win football games.
On the other side, it’s Dabo Swinney. He would love nothing more than 1955 college football, when students went to class, played football, and repeated parts one and two.
Considering how good LSU should be, and how Clemson is coming off a rough season, this might be the last shot to put a pause on the momentum of an entire sport.
It’s Week 1 of the college football season. It’s everything we’ve been waiting for.
Clemson vs LSU: Quick Hits
- It’s the sixth-ever Tiger vs Tiger, Death Valley vs Death Valley matchup. LSU is 4-1 in the series, winning 17-10 last season, and closed out the epic 2019 campaign with a 42-25 win in the CFP National Championship.
- How big was last year’s win for LSU? It broke a run of four straight season-opening losses. It gets Louisiana Tech next week, and then it’s really on – at Ole Miss.
- Not only has Clemson lost three straight openers, it lost to LSU, Georgia, and Duke by a combined score of 79-20. Georgia Southern is up next, and then it’s really on (sort of, with Belichick) – North Carolina.
How To Watch Clemson vs LSU
Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026
Game Time: 7:30 PM ET
TV: ABC
Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
– CFN Week 1 Schedule, Predictions
– CFN Week 1 Expert Picks
Why Clemson Will Win
Poor Clemson. It’s a double-digit underdog, the coach is complaining about the sport being “embarrassing” when it comes to the former NFL players looking to come back, and it doesn’t quite have the talent of the new-look LSU team.
Poor, poor Clemson …
It’s not often Dabo can crank up the “no one believes in us,” Clemson-vs-the-world sort of thing, but it fits here. All of the pressure is on the LSU side of the field, and with all the player eligibility court cases and outside noise, the SEC Tigers might not be quite as focused as they need to be.
Clemson has the running backs in place to do more on the ground, the offensive line should be the best Swinney has had in several years, and the team upgraded the receiving corps in a big way.
– Clemson 2026 Preview
Why LSU Will Win
LSU is better.
America isn’t quite grasping this yet. Lane Kiffin, for all the other stuff, is a whale of a head coach – the guy won big at Florida Atlantic and turned Ole Miss into a thing.
He’s amazing at bringing in talent. His style on and off the field is brash, and there’s an attitude to it all because he and his teams are almost always just that good.
New starting quarterback Sam Leavitt from Arizona State has apparently been lights out so far in practices. The offensive line has a who’s who of transfer portal talent, only bettered by the stars coming in for the defensive front.
– LSU 2026 Preview
Clemson vs LSU Prediction, Betting Lines
Seriously, a night game in Baton Rouge to start the Lane Kiffin era against the Clemson Tigers? Even if this doesn’t turn out to be close, the atmosphere through the first quarter will be as electric as anything we’ll see all year (until LSU and Kiffin go to Oxford).
Clemson will come out equally fired up and will be fantastic over the first 20 minutes. And then the LSU pace and tempo will take over, and the talent level will come through.
LSU 31, Clemson 20
Latest Consensus Line: LSU -10.5, o/u: 50.5
ATS Confidence (out of 5): 2.5
Must See Rating (out of 5): 5
Consensus line based on BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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