Week 1 of the 2025 college football season features a jam-packed slate of matchups that feature some of the best teams in the nation squaring off against one another, and perhaps the biggest game of the weekend is the clash between the No. 4 Clemson Tigers and the No. 9 LSU Tigers.
This is one of several Week 1 games that could have massive College Football Playoff implications down the line, and as such, it’s a game that fans and analysts alike across the sport have circled as a must-watch affair.
One analyst who recently touched on the marquee tilt was ESPN’s Greg McElroy, who made his prediction on who he believed the winner would be on his CFB podcast for ESPN.
“I’m taking the Clemson Tigers to win this game,” McElroy said. “I think that their advantage with their defensive line against an inexperienced offensive line gives them a pretty significant edge in what should be one of the biggest games of the season here early on.”
It’s hard to argue with the logic behind McElroy’s assessment here, as Clemson once again boasts one of the best defensive lines in the entire country, while LSU will be replacing multiple key veterans from last year’s squad.
A common saying is that football games are decided in the trenches, and that could very well be the case here, as McElroy suggests.
