Saturday night’s primetime slate is headlined by the battle for Death Valley between LSU and Clemson.
It’s a key game for both programs as each has legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations entering the season. Clemson has been discussed as a potential national title contender while LSU is looking to clinch its first CFP berth of the Brian Kelly era this year.
Here’s a breakdown of the betting odds for this game as well as some key info on both teams entering Week 1. As always, we’ll have a couple of best bets for LSU vs. Clemson at the end as well.
LSU vs. Clemson betting odds
Here are the latest betting odds for this game between LSU and Clemson:
LSU fact sheet
- LSU comes into this matchup having lost 5 consecutive season-openers, including the last 3 under head coach Brian Kelly. The Tigers were favored in all 3 of the losses under Kelly, underperforming the betting markets by an average of almost 13 points per game.
- LSU returns quarterback Garrett Nussmeier from last year’s team. While many top teams changed quarterbacks this offseason, Nussmeier (along with Cade Klubnik) is one of the premier returners in the sport at that position. He threw for over 4,000 yards last year, but did lead the SEC in interceptions with 12.
- LSU is entering its second season with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan calling plays. Last year, the Tigers were extremely pass-heavy. LSU’s pass rate was north of 60% — only one other SEC team (Georgia) was higher than 52% in 2024.
- That split may have been at least partially due to LSU’s struggles in the run game. The Tigers averaged just 4.37 yards per rush on early downs last season, which ranked 80th in the country. Caden Durham and Josh Williams really struggled to produce explosive runs. LSU running backs combined for 33 carries of 10+ yards last season on 311 total attempts. That’s an explosive rush rate of just over 10%, which ranked 110th out of 130 FBS teams last season.
- LSU is replacing 4 of its 5 starting offensive linemen, including top-5 overall pick Will Campbell at left tackle.
- Defensively, Blake Baker made big strides in his first season as DC in 2024. He brought LSU from one of the worst statistical defenses in 2023 to a slightly-below average defense a year ago.
- LSU will likely have several defensive transfers starting in Week 1, so continuity is not necessarily a strength. True freshman corner DJ Pickett has also emerged as a potential Day 1 contributor following a strong fall camp.
Clemson fact sheet
- Like Nussmeier, Klubnik returns as one of the most-decorated quarterbacks in college football. He was honorable mention all-ACC last season behind Cam Ward, Kyle McCord and Kevin Jennings. He enters this season as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.
- Wide receiver is a strength for Clemson this season with the likes of Antonio Williams, Bryant Westco and TJ Moore all returning.
- Running back is a big question for the Tigers. Phil Mafah led the team in carries last year but he’s now in the NFL and backup Jay Haynes is recovering from knee surgery. Converted wide receiver Adam Randall is set to start in Week 1, per coach Dabo Swinney, but none of Clemson’s healthy options at that position are particularly proven.Â
- Clemson’s strength is with its defensive line. Peter Woods and TJ Parker are both widely viewed as potential first-round picks. The Tigers also went out and added Purdue transfer Will Heldt this offseason — the first significant transfer addition of the Dabo Swinney era.Â
- Clemson parted ways with defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin after last season and brought in Tom Allen as a replacement. Goodwin was a former Brent Venables lieutenant who got the job after Venables left for Oklahoma.
- Defensively, Clemson excelled at forcing teams into third-and-long situations in 2024. Per Game on Paper, Clemson’s defense fell in the 97th percentile in average third-down distance. Its weakness, though, was giving up big runs — the Tigers were in the 7th percentile in rush defense explosiveness.Â
Two best bets for LSU vs. Clemson
I’m fading Nussmeier in this matchup. In general, I’m fading Nussmeier for the 2025 season actually. I have some pretty significant concerns about LSU’s offensive line and that could be especially problematic in this matchup vs. a Clemson defensive front that’s maybe the best in the country. I also don’t think Nussmeier and LSU will throw the ball as much as they did a year ago — it was simply too unbalanced of an offensive attack. That’s an adjustment Sloan should be making in Year 2 as the play caller. That should lead to less volume for Nussmeier, which translates to less production, too.Â
Pick: Garrett Nussmeier under 290.5 yards (-114 on FanDuel)
I’m also taking the under in this game. We’ve got 2 returning, Heisman-contending quarterbacks in this matchup — I’m betting one or both of them is a bit overhyped as a result. Klubnik performed much worse in big games last season and Nussmeier had his share of turnover issues, particularly late in the year. Meanwhile, Clemson’s defense should be able to create lots of havoc and I think Blake Baker will deliver even better results in his second year as LSU’s defensive coordinator.Â
Pick: Under 57.5 (-110 on bet365)
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
