While much has been made of Clemson's Week 1 matchup at LSU, keep in mind the Tigers have not played each other all that much before. In fact, this will be the first time Clemson will play LSU in Baton Rouge. LSU may hold the all-time series lead at 4-1, but the Bayou Bengals have never gotten the best of Clemson in Tiger Stadium before. In a way, this could work in Clemson's favor on Saturday.
Clemson has been told so many times before how daunting it is to play on the road at Tiger Stadium, especially under those bright lights. Although it is a sight to behold both in-person and on television, this is still untrodden territory for Swinney's program. Even if they hail from the ACC, Clemson has played in a boatload of huge games under their iconic head coach. This is Lane Kiffin's first at LSU.
The great unknown of it all from Clemson's perspective may work to the Tigers' advantage more than one may think. In short, you don't know what you don't know. While a raucous road environment could end up being problematic for Clemson as the game goes along, Swinney's Tigers won't have any baked-in level of fear about playing in this road venue. They don't have any bad experiences there.
Clemson's unfamiliarity with Tiger Stadium could play a part in upset bid
So far in this football series, LSU has the upper hand. The Tigers have neutral-site wins over Clemson in the 1958 Sugar Bowl, the 1996 Peach Bowl, and the 2019-20 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. While they did win on the road at Memorial Stadium last season, Clemson does have the 2012 Sugar Bowl victory as proof that the Tigers can beat this LSU team away from home.
Even if FanDuel Sportsbook has LSU as the 10.5-point home favorite over Clemson, the visiting Tigers could be entering play as the steadier of the two programs. While Kiffin is brand-new to Baton Rouge, Swinney has been coaching at a high level at Clemson for over a generation now. He also has a coaching staff littered with former Power Four head coaches as part of it. Kiffin does not have that.
Although it will not be easy to pull off the upset, it is not like Clemson will be down 10 points coming off the bus. This is mostly because Swinney will not let them do that. With LSU potentially allowing former NFL players to suit up for them, Clemson may actually be America's Team of the Week coming in. Outside of Louisiana and Columbia, SC, everyone with a pulse may be rooting for Swinney's team.
It will take a perfect storm for Clemson to shock the college football world by beating LSU. However, the Tigers are not going to be in awe of LSU's college football cathedral. They may lose or get blown out anyway, but there have been teams before who just win anyway because they don't know any better. The greatest example of that might be the then-Florida Marlins back in the 2023 World Series.
Clemson could be overmatched in this one, but Swinney's program might not be fish out of water.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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