It can't get any worse for the Clemson Tigers than Week 1, right?
Clemson (0-1) was routed by LSU in a 51-10 beatdown on the bayou last Saturday at Tiger Stadium to open the 2026 college football season. The Bayou Bengals outgained Clemson in total yards, 644-145, and had a staggering 309-40 advantage in rushing. LSU had 38 first downs to Clemson's eight.
For all intents and purposes, the game was over late in the first quarter when Jordan Ross intercepted a Christopher Vizzina pass and returned it 30 yards for a pick six with 2:07 to play and a 17-3 LSU lead.
Clemson trailed 31-3 at half and 44-3 after three quarters. Heading into the fourth quarter, LSU had 507 yards of total offense to Clemson's 73 yards.
Vizzina, who failed to finish the first
half before redshirt freshman Tait Reynolds saw his first snaps at quarterback, finished 10-of-16 for 83 yards and the interception. Reynolds completed four of his six passes for 22 yards, and no Clemson running back rushed for more than 21 yards between Gideon Davidson and Jarvis Green.
David Eziomume scored Clemson's only touchdown on an 11-yard run with 3:13 left in garbage time.
Georgia Southern (1-0) opened its season with a 31-0 shutout of Charleston Southern on Saturday in Statesboro. The Eagles amassed 513 yards of total offense with seventh-year college quarterback Max Johnson completing 28 of 39 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown.
Clemson fell out of the one top-25 poll they were ranked in Tuesday.
Will Clemson football avoid upset vs Georgia Southern? ESPN's prediction
Oddsmakers have Clemson as a 20.5-point favorite over Georgia Southern, but as always, ESPN Analytics has its own odds for Saturday's games.
ESPN's matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college football power index and other variables, gives Clemson an 88.3% chance to win. Georgia Southern has an 11.7% chance.
The Tigers fell to No. 42 overall in ESPN's FPI ratings, down 23 spots from last week. Clemson is now eighth among ACC teams in the FPI with a 6.4 overall FPI rating (down from 13.4 and second best in the ACC last week). Georgia Southern has a minus-8,0 rating that's 104th in ESPN's metrics.
Clemson has one of biggest drops in ESPN college football power index
Among Power Four teams, Clemson's 23-spot plunge in ESPN's college football power index ratings was exceeded only by Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights fell 29 spots overall after their double-digit loss to UMass in Week 1.
The next closest drop was NC State, which fell 20 spots to No. 71 after a 34-8 blowout loss to Virginia in the teams' ACC openers.
Clemson football updated odds of reaching ACC Championship Game, 2026 College Football Playoff
In ESPN's FPI ratings entering Week 2, Clemson chances of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff are 3.1%, down sharply from 22.2% last week. It's the ninth-best overall odds of reaching the CFP among all ACC teams.
The Tigers are given a 1.5% chance of winning the ACC championship (down from 12.1% last week), a 0.1% chance of reaching the national championship game (down from 2%) on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and a 0% shot of winning the national title (down from 0.8%).
Clemson is now one spot behind the Houston Cougars (6.5) in the overall FPI ratings and one spot ahead of the Cincinnati Bearcats (6.3).
ACC football teams ranked by ESPN FPI: Virginia and Pitt rise, Clemson plummets
LSU's blowout win over Clemson caused the Tigers to suffer the biggest drop among ACC teams in the college football power index ratings. The biggest movers within the conference were Syracuse (+16 spots), Pittsburgh (+14) and Virginia (+7).
Here's a look at where Clemson and all 17 ACC teams rank in ESPN's FPI.
- 17. Stanford Cardinal (-4.7 FPI)
- 16. Boston College Eagles (-4.6 FPI)
- 15. California Golden Bears (-3.0 FPI)
- 14. NC State Wolfpack (-1.1 FPI)
- T-12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3.5 FPI)
- T-12. Syracuse Orange (3.5 FPI)
- 11. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3.8 FPI)
- 10. Duke Blue Devils (4.7 FPI)
- 9. North Carolina Tar Heels (6.3 FPI)
- 8. Clemson Tigers (6.4 FPI)
- 7. Florida State Seminoles (7.3 FPI)
- 6. Virginia Tech Hokies (9.3 FPI)
- 5. Louisville Cardinals (10.8 FPI)
- 4. Virginia Cavaliers (11.1 FPI)
- 3. Pitt Panthers (11.5 FPI)
- 2. SMU Mustangs (12.1 FPI)
- 1. Miami Hurricanes (25.4 FPI)
What are ESPN FPI ratings?
ESPN explains:
"The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete."
Clemson football vs. Georgia Southern start time, TV information
Kickoff for Clemson-Georgia Southern in Week 2 of the 2026 college football season is 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Clemson Memorial Stadium. The game can be seen on ACC Network.
Joel Klatt on if Clemson is a ‘dead’ college football program in 2026
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 9, 2026
📸 Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network , USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/muN58yDSSF pic.twitter.com/XQJ1MSR1IK
Clemson football schedule 2026
All start times Eastern.
- Sept. 5: at LSU Tigers (L, 51-10)
- Sept. 12: vs. Georgia Southern Eagles, 7:30 p.m., ACC Network
- Sept. 19: vs. North Carolina Tar Heels, noon, ESPN
- Sept. 25: at California Golden Bears, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
- Oct. 3: vs. Miami Hurricanes, TBA
- Oct. 17: vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers, TBA
- Oct. 24: vs. Virginia Tech Hokies, TBA
- Oct. 31: at Florida State Seminoles, TBA
- Nov. 7: at Syracuse Orange, TBA
- Nov. 14: vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, TBA
- Nov. 20: at Duke Blue Devils, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Nov. 28: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, TBA
Record: 0-1.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: ESPN predicts the winner of Clemson football vs Georgia Southern
