Week 1 of the 2025 college football season is finally upon us. Week 0 action was nice, but now it’s time for the real big time matchups to begin. LSU vs. Clemson is just one of the many exciting games in Week 1 action, but the outcome could make or break the path to the playoff for perhaps the entire ACC and SEC.

Brian Kelly desperately needs to snap his Week 1 losing streak, but LSU might struggle to actually get it done against a Clemson team that is stacked with future NFL talent. Garrett Nussmeier should have plenty of weapons thanks to the additions of Barion Brown and Nic Anderson at wide receiver via the transfer portal, but there will certainly be questions with the offensive line.

Dabo Swinney could prove once and for all that “his way” still works in the modern college football transfer portal and NIL era if Clemson pulls off this win. Quarterback Cade Klubnik, wide receiver Antonio Williams, defensive tackle Peter Woods, cornerback Avieon Terrell, and a number of other Clemson Tigers look like early round NFL Draft picks, but they need to prove that their team has taken their game to another level compared to last year’s 8-4 regular season result.

Heading into this epic Week 1 matchup between teams with a lot to prove, media members of A to Z Sports who cover both teams decided to weigh in, sharing their predictions for how this game should play out. Who will win? The picks are in. Enjoy!

Clemson 30, LSU 27

The 2025 LSU Tigers should be one of the best teams in the country by the end of the season, but the Clemson Tigers are already there right now. Yes, Garrett Nussmeier put up some great counting stats last year and should be one of the best quarterbacks in the country again. Yes, Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins should make for one of the more dynamic off-ball defender tandems in the country. However, LSU just has more questions heading into the season than Clemson.

The LSU offensive line is replacing four starters. The LSU pass rush replaced virtually everything except for Dominick McKinley and they need Gabriel Reliford to step up big time too. The number one transfer portal class in all of college football should be great once they gel together on both sides of the ball, but expecting that to happen in Week 1 playing at Clemson is asking a bit much.

Meanwhile, Clemson returns the vast majority of last year’s offense and defense that took them to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Cade Klubnik ended up posting a top ten efficiency profile on the year among all QBs in 2024 and should take yet another step forward given his surrounding cast. Antonio Williams, T.J. Moore, and Bryant Wesco combine for one of the best WR trios in the country. Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, and DeMonte Capehart (plus transfer Will Heldt from Purdue) are one of the best defensive line groups in the nation too. Talent edge goes to Clemson in a tight game. – Travis May

Clemson 24, LSU 20

An early-season matchup between a defensive powerhouse with young playmakers at Clemson and an offensive-focused roster with LSU is a game we’ve seen play out many times. It’s normal for defenses to be well ahead of offenses in Week 1, and that advantage is what benefits Clemson in what should be a terrific game. The Tigers have a championship-caliber defense that is led by two elite 2026 NFL Draft prospects, T.J. Parker and Peter Woods.

With the majority of Clemson’s defensive starters entering their junior and senior campaigns, this should be one of Dabo Swinney’s finest, most well-rounded unit he’s had since their last title run. Garrett Nussmeier has an incredible supporting cast at playmaker positions, but his offensive line will be shredded.

That leaves the pressure on the Tigers’ offense, which is younger but explosive enough to give LSU way more than it can handle over the course of the entire game. – Ian Valentino

LSU 24, Clemson 17

This may end up being one of the hardest games that Clemson will play all year long due to the naturally weak ACC schedule that they usually play. Clemson is good, don’t get me wrong, but to start your season against LSU is not something I would have asked for. These are different teams, but let’s throw it back to last season when the Clemson Tigers played Georgia early on in the season and got destroyed. That may happen here too.

However, because it’s a season opener, and Brian Kelly’s LSU has struggled in season openers as of late, there is always that chance that LSU does lose. Give me LSU in this one, strictly because of all the pieces they have on the offense. Whether it’s QB Garrett Nussmeier, the stacked transfer class, or the offensive line that Kelly swears up and down is better than the one they had last season, LSU just has enough in place to get it done. – Justin Churchill

Clemson 27, LSU 23

This matchup in the first week of the season will launch one of these teams into way-too-early national contender talks, while the loser will probably understand that it may only get easier from here on out. Regardless, both of these teams are incredibly talented. You can argue that Clemson has three or four first-round talents for next year’s NFL draft. Meanwhile, LSU boasts one of their most talented rosters in recent seasons led by a Heisman Trophy candidate in QB Garrett Nussmeier. Are their key defensive upgrades enough to take down Dabo’s squad, though? Hard to tell.

In a game that I can’t imagine isn’t close throughout, I’m gonna give the edge to the Tigers of Clemson as of now. – Adam Holt

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It looks like this game could come down to the wire. On average, our A to Z Sports staff picks Clemson to win 25-24 over the LSU Tigers. That’s a bit lower scoring than many expect this game to be, but Clemson seems to get the nod thanks to home field and their depth of talent.

We’ll be back with more College Football coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!