ESPN analyst Greg McElroy looks forward to watching Clemson face off against a couple of non-conference foes during the upcoming college football campaign.

On his Always College Football show, McElroy ranked the top 10 non-conference games of the 2025 season.

Two Clemson games made McElroy’s list, including the showdown against South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia on Nov. 29 (12 p.m., ABC or ESPN).

That rivalry clash came in at No. 8 in McElroy’s ranking.

“South Carolina, I’m not sure they’re going to be as good as they were last year on defense, but I think offensively, they have a chance to take a significant step forward,” McElroy said. “I think Clemson has a legit chance to start the season in the top five, and I would not be surprised at all if, at season’s end, they’re No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 in college football. I think they’re that good.

“A legitimate national championship contender, having to go on the road in the final game of the regular season against their SEC foe in-state – that’s always one of my favorite rivalries, and it will be an awesome one to consume again here in ‘25.”

Clemson has won each of its last five road games at South Carolina across the 2015-23 seasons, and a win would give the Tigers six straight road wins against the Gamecocks for the first time since winning in Columbia six straight times across the 1989-99 seasons.

As for Clemson’s marquee season-opening matchup against LSU at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m., ABC), it’s ranked by McElroy as the second best non-conference game in 2025.

“I talked a little earlier about why I think Clemson is a legitimate national championship contender. They have the quarterback back, they’ve got tremendous skill, the offensive line should be excellent. Defensively, they have great players back at all three levels,” McElroy said. “But moving over to the LSU side, Garrett Nussmeier comes back, and there’s people that have been surrounding the LSU program, those that have been talking about LSU – being around the team and the players, they feel like this could be the year where Brian Kelly really breaks through.

“Nussmeier, he’s now back in his second year as the starting quarterback. They’ve gone to the portal. They’ve adequately replaced several spots that needed to be replaced. They’re going to be great at wide receiver. Should be pretty good along the offensive line and at running back. And then defensively, second year in Blake Baker’s system, will they have a couple tricks up their sleeve against Cade Klubnik and what should be a high-powered offense for the Clemson Tigers? LSU travels from their Death Valley to Clemson’s Death Valley. That should be one of the best games of the college football season.”

After four previous postseason meetings, this year will mark the first meeting between Clemson and LSU in regular season play.

Clemson is 12-5 against SEC opponents in regular season play in the College Football Playoff era. This year will be Clemson’s first time opening a season at home since 2019, as the Tigers opened all five seasons from 2020-24 either on the road or at a neutral site.

You can see McElroy’s full list of the best non-conference games of the 2025 season and hear his commentary on each of those contests in the video below:

No. 10 – Wisconsin at Alabama, Sept. 13

No. 9 – TCU at North Carolina, Sept. 1

No. 8 – Clemson at South Carolina, Nov. 29

No. 7 – Alabama at Florida State, Aug. 30

No. 6 – Florida at Miami, Sept. 20

No. 5 – Texas A&M at Notre Dame, Sept. 13

No. 4 – Notre Dame at Miami, Aug. 31

No. 3 – Michigan at Oklahoma, Sept. 6

No. 2 – LSU at Clemson, Aug. 30

No. 1 – Texas at Ohio State, Aug. 30