Clemson does not have to win in Baton Rouge on Saturday night. The Tigers may only need to look competitive to keep all their dreams alive for this season. Truth be told, even if LSU wins and covers the 10.5-point spread put forth by FanDuel Sportsbook, it is still not the end of the world. How do we know this? Well, we have seen this before at Clemson, as illustrated by its 2024 ACC Championship.
During the 2024 college season, Clemson got blown out in Week 1 by eventual SEC champion Georgia in the Aflac Kickoff Game, 34-3. The Tigers responded by winning their next six games. While they stumbled at home to Louisville in early November, that was their only ACC loss of the year. After dropping the Palmetto Bowl to South Carolina, Clemson defeated SMU in Charlotte to make the CFP.
With expectations being tempered, Clemson is effectively playing with house money in the LSU game. Since Clemson is expected to fall, a loss is not going to do irreparable damage to its playoff chances. While the Tigers do probably need to go 7-1 in ACC play to have any real shot of making it back into the playoffs, they could conceivably fall to South Carolina again and still be in good shape.
Clemson might not be punished for losing to Playoff contender LSU
In a way, Clemson's Week 1 road date at LSU is actually a win-win scenario for the Tigers. If they do not get it done vs. LSU, they will have plenty of opportunities to right the ship later on this season. However, if they do pull off the road upset of the Bayou Bengals, Dabo Swinney's team will skyrocket back into the AP Top 25 to become a vibrant part of College Football Playoff conversations early on.
Entering this season, Clemson has a 23.2-percent chance to make the College Football Playoff, per ESPN's Football Power Index. That gives the Tigers the 15th-best odds of making the 12-team field. While they are on the outside looking in, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they make the tournament this year. Simply put, a big win over LSU might firmly have Clemson ahead of the cut line.
One of the most beautiful parts about the first few weeks of college football is that so much remains unknown. It is impossible not to have baked-in biases about a team coming in, such as how well they performed a year ago, and what sort of offseason changes they have made. LSU may be a shiny new toy in the SEC, but Lane Kiffin has a horrible reputation to uphold. People are hoping to see him fail.
As for Swinney and his team, Clemson could be America's team of the week during Week 1. Everyone loves an underdog story, better yet one with a redemption arc. Clemson used to dominate the college football world, but has pulled back considerably over the last several years. By potentially pulling off the road upset of LSU, it could be the ultimate tone-setter that the Tigers might need for this season.
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