National Analyst Predicts LSU Football's Record Ahead of Week 1 at Clemson

Brian Kelly and Co. will get the primetime slot in Week 1, square off against the Clemson Tigers on the road.

Courtesy of LSU Football.

The LSU Tigers will open the regular season on Saturday night against Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers in one of the most anticipated matchups of the year.

Brian Kelly and Co. are coming off of a dominant offseason after retaining both Garrett Nussmeier and Harold Perkins while assembling the top-ranked Transfer Portal haul in America.

Now, the sole focus is on Week 1 at Clemson with the Bayou Bengals looking to snap a five-game losing streak in season opening matchups.

LSU began Clemson preparation early this year with the program eyeing a massive victory on the road in order to steer the ship in the right direction early and break the Week 1 trend.

“I’ve had teams that haven’t started on an opponent until the last week because we had so many question marks and so many unknowns,” Kelly said. “This one has been driven by the fact we have veteran players on both sides of the ball that allowed us to transition into our opponent a little bit sooner.

"We didn’t start until Saturday for USC last year, so that’s five days later in terms of preparation. It’s year to year, team to team.”

What does the national media believe the Tigers can achieve this season with Week 1 inching closer?

Courtesy of Bauer Sharp's Instagram.

On Sunday, college football analyst Josh Pate revealed his season predictions for the Southeastern Conference with LSU's outlook laid out.

Pate believes the LSU Tigers will finish the season with an 8-4 record with Nussmeier under center once again for the Bayou Bengals.

🚨SEC WIN-LOSS RECORD PREDICTIONS🚨 pic.twitter.com/kyNslT25eX

— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) August 25, 2025

Along with the Tigers' finishing with a "underachieving" year, Pate also believes the Ole Miss Rebels, Oklahoma Sooners, South Carolina Gamecocks and Tennessee Volunteers will go 8-4 on the season.

The LSU Tigers ESPN Matchup Predictor Chances:

at Clemson (Aug. 30) - 46.2 percent chance to win
Louisiana Tech (Sept. 6) - 97.4 percent chance to win
Florida (Sept. 13) - 57.5 percent chance to win
Southeastern Louisiana (Sept. 20) - 99.0 percent chance to win
at Ole Miss (Sept. 27) - 42.3 percent chance to win
South Carolina (Oct. 11) - 56.7 percent chance to win
at Vanderbilt (Oct. 18) - 70.4 percent chance to win
Texas A&M (Oct. 25) - 54.4 percent chance to win
at Alabama (Nov. 8) - 27.2 percent chance to win
Arkansas (Nov. 15) - 69.3 percent chance to win
Western Kentucky (Nov. 22) - 97.0 percent chance to win
at Oklahoma (Nov. 29) - 54.9 percent chance to win

More LSU News:

LSU Football Season Outlook: Predicting Brian Kelly and the Tigers Record in 2025

Nation's No. 1 Wide Receiver, Elite Five-Star LSU Football Commit on 'Flip Watch'

LSU Football Depth Chart Predictions: Projecting the Starters Against Clemson Tigers

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