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| Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss |
📊 THE RECORD
🏆 PICKS 0–0 | ⚡ UPSETS 0–0 | 🐕 SUPERDOGS 0–0 | 🔒 LOCKS 0–0
Clemson Tigers vs. (11) LSU Tigers
📍 Baton Rouge
🏈 LSU -10 | O/U 50.5
The 2019 National Championship Game feels like a lifetime ago, especially for these two respective programs. At that point, LSU was putting the finishing touches on an all-time season. Clemson had established themselves as one of the sport's most consistent programs, playing in their fourth National Championship in five years. Now, both collide in this 2026 season opener looking vastly different, and out to prove themselves in different ways. LSU now has Lane Kiffin on the sidelines and were one of the most aggressive teams in the nation in the transfer portal. Clemson has slipped significantly under Dabo Swinney, but is out to prove last season's disappointing 7-6 finish was merely an aberration. One team will come out Saturday, while the other will find themselves under pressure as they look towards the remainder of the fall.
There's a whole lot of new faces for Lane and the Bayou Bengals as they begin this new era, and it starts at quarterback. Sam Leavitt was brought on from Arizona State to jolt an offense that was downright ugly last year. He'll have a new-look offensive line, bolstered by stud tackle Jordan Seaton, and some fresh weapons to work with at the skill position. How he looks in the opener could set the tenor for the rest of LSU's season. Leavitt missed a big chunk of last year with injury, and he needs to be back to 100 percent if this team is to reach their lofty ceiling. Yet, I'm perhaps more curious about this ground game, which features holdovers Caden Durham and Harlem Berry. Every great Lane Kiffin-coached team has always featured an elite ground game that opens up everything they do through the air. For an offense that struggled to run the ball throughout the entire Brian Kelly era, finding rhythm here would be a huge testament to the quick turnaround Lane appears capable of. You do get the sense Lane is going to want to test what Clemson's athletes look like up front. If he feels he has the advantage, he is going to be just fine sitting back and running the ball all game long. Clemson has some quality pieces, namely defensive end Will Heldt and linebacker Sammy Brown, but this is not the same Tiger front seven we came to know during their height in the 2010s. It feels like LSU is going to hold the edge and be the more physical team, unless Tom Allen and this Clemson defensive staff can come up with some creative blitzes and looks to get into the backfield. Clemson feels like the team that is going to have to take chances, particularly on the road, and that has never been the strength of Dabo or this coaching staff. Their golden years were about their advantage in talent, player development, and preparation. I'm curious to see if they can devise a gameplan to overcome the talent gap here.
It's a different feel to the Clemson offense, too, after they overhauled this unit following the frustrating