ESPN predicts Clemson football odds of pulling upset vs LSU in Week 1

The Clemson Tigers have their work cut out for them if they hope to pull off what would be considered a fairly big upset in Week 1 of the 2026 college football season. Clemson, ranked No. 23 in the US LBM Coaches Poll entering the season, faces No. 13 LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge Saturday nig

What is the story about?

The Clemson Tigers have their work cut out for them if they hope to pull off what would be considered a fairly big upset in Week 1 of the 2026 college football season.

Clemson, ranked No. 23 in the US LBM Coaches Poll entering the season, faces No. 13 LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge Saturday night.

It's the first of two SEC-ACC showdowns on the Week 1 card. No. 24 Louisville faces No. 10 Ole Miss in a neutral-site game Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Clemson-LSU is the game with all the hype and fanfare. It's Lane Kiffin's first game as LSU's coach after a messy split from Ole Miss and more recently, his efforts to bring former NFL players back into college football at LSU.

ESPN's "College GameDay" is giving Clemson-LSU its royal treatment

with a visit to Tiger Stadium, followed by the prime time 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff spot on ABC and its No. 1 broadcast crew.

Both the ACC's Tigers and SEC's Tigers are coming off disappointing 7-6 seasons a year ago that began with each team in the top-10 preseason rankings. They both have new starting quarterbacks, as well: former Arizona State gunslinger Sam Leavitt for LSU and junior Christopher Vizzina for Clemson.

LSU pulled out a 17-10 win at Clemson in last year's season opener at Memorial Stadium. What are Clemson's chances of pulling an upset in Baton Rouge to open the 2026 season?

Can Clemson football upset LSU, spoil Lane Kiffin debut? ESPN's prediction

Oddsmakers have Clemson as a 10.5-point underdog at LSU, but as is the case every week during the 2026 college football season, ESPN Analytics will have 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 LSU a 75.3% chance to win. Clemson has a 24.7% chance.

Clemson is No. 19 in ESPN's FPI ratings entering the season, which ranks second among ACC teams. The Tigers have a 13.4 overall FPI rating. LSU has a 20.0 rating that's No. 9 nationally in ESPN's metrics.

ESPN predicts the final score of Clemson vs LSU football in Week 1

📸 Alex Martin/Greenville News, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect https://t.co/naQmbrAAhA pic.twitter.com/7Zcl0Q4Bqg
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 1, 2026

Clemson football odds of reaching 2026 College Football Playoff

In ESPN's FPI ratings entering Week 1, Clemson's chances of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff are 22.2%. Among ACC teams, those are the second-best odds of reaching the CFP, and the 17th-best odds overall among the 68 Power Four conference teams and Notre Dame.

The Tigers are given a 12.1% chance of winning the ACC championship, a 2% chance of reaching the national championship game on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and a 0.8% shot of winning the national title.

Those are also the second-best odds for any ACC team entering 2026, according to ESPN's metrics. Only the Miami Hurricanes have (considerably) higher odds.

Clemson (13.4) is one spot behind the USC Trojans (13.6) in the initial FPI ratings and one spot ahead of the BYU Cougars (13.1).

ACC football teams ranked by ESPN FPI entering college football Week 1

Here's a look at where Clemson sits among all 17 ACC football teams in the FPI entering Week 1.

17. Boston College Eagles (-2.7 FPI)
16. NC State Wolfpack (-1.4 FPI)
15. Stanford Cardinal (-1.2 FPI)
14. Syracuse Orange (-0.8 FPI)
13. California Golden Bears (0.9 FPI)
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3.4 FPI)
11. Duke Blue Devils (3.5 FPI)
10. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4.2 FPI)
9. North Carolina Tar Heels (5.9 FPI)
8. Pittsburgh Panthers (6.6 FPI)
7. Virginia Tech Hokies (7.4 FPI)
6. Florida State Seminoles (8.0 FPI)
5. Louisville Cardinals (9.5 FPI)
4. Virginia Cavaliers (10.4 FPI)
3. SMU Mustangs (11.1 FPI)
2. Clemson Tigers (13.4 FPI)
1. Miami Hurricanes (21.8 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 vs. LSU start time, TV information

Start time, TV announcers for Clemson vs LSU football in Week 1

📸 Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports https://t.co/BgM6nBuikA pic.twitter.com/DNzu87u9Yt
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) September 1, 2026

Kickoff for Clemson-LSU in Week 1 of the 2026 college football season is 7:49 p.m. ET Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. The game can be seen on ABC. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will have the call of the game. Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge will report from the sidelines.