Arguably the best non-conference battle of the 2025 season will be taking place between the LSU Tigers and Clemson Tigers in primetime on Aug. 30.
Every single college football fan in existence knows just how exciting this game is going to be and it's a chance for Brian Kelly to prove that he can, in fact, win season openers and Dabo Swinney is trying to show the world that Clemson football is back.
The game will take place in Death Valley (the real one) at 7:30 p.m. ET and if you follow college football in the slightest, there's a good chance that you'll be tuning in.
That game is already the topic of conversation on ESPN as a couple of major personalities made their predictions for the season-opening battle between Clemson and LSU.
Paul Finebaum, who happens to be the most influential and polarizing SEC personality, has never been high on Dabo and Clemson and has taken his fair share of shots at the Tigers over the years. However, he has changed his tune this offseason, saying that Clemson should be one of the top national title contenders and he even made a shocking prediction for that Aug. 30 showdown.
According to TigerNet, Finebaum went on ESPN earlier this week and predicted that Clemson would be able to hold on to beat Kelly and LSU.
"“I hate to be obvious here about home field, but that’s about as difficult a home field advantage as there is in college football,” Finebaum said. “I think LSU is really good… but I don’t, right now, believe they can do it Week 1.”"Paul Finebaum via TigerNet
Heather Dinich also picked Clemson but was much more confident in her prediction, saying that Clemson would beat LSU and become a serious contender for a national title. Ryan Clark, an LSU alum, didn't make that same prediction for obvious reasons.
Is 2025 Clemson turning Finebaum into a believer?