Clemson-LSU Listed among ‘Most Compelling Rematches’
By: Gavin Oliver February 19, 2026

CBS Sports looked ahead and highlighted the “most compelling rematches” in the 2026 college football campaign.

Clemson’s season opener against LSU is listed among 12 of the best rematches on the 2026 schedule.

Clemson and LSU are set to square off on Sept. 5 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

It will mark Clemson’s first trip to Baton Rouge and Clemson’s first time opening a season in an SEC venue since opening its 2016 national championship season with a 19-13 win at Auburn. It will also be Lane Kiffin’s first game as LSU’s head coach after he was hired this past November to replace Brian Kelly, who was fired in October.

Clemson and LSU faced one another at neutral sites in postseason play four times before the two sets of Tigers met in Clemson in the 2025 season opener for their first regular season, on-campus meeting in series history – what was a top-10 matchup that saw LSU win, 17-10, at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 30.

Here’s what CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns wrote about the 2026 Clemson-LSU rematch:

“The 17-10 win over Clemson in last year’s opener looked like the first step for Brian Kelly in getting over the hump at LSU. Instead, things went off the rails and he lost his job in favor of Lane Kiffin. Now, Kiffin debuts against that same Clemson team in the second leg of the series. After signing the nation’s top transfer class, Kiffin will be strongly favored to defeat the other Tigers, who continue to trend in the wrong direction under Dabo Swinney’s watch. Significant roster turnover marked by losses of numerous NFL-caliber starters lends itself to pessimism for Clemson in 2026.”

Clemson concluded the 2025 campaign with a 7-6 record, capped off by a 22-10 loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl, while LSU went 7-6 as well and finished the year with a 38-35 loss to Houston in the Texas Bowl.

LSU leads the all-time series against Clemson 4-1, with Clemson’s lone win being a dramatic 25-24 victory in the 2012 Peach Bowl.

The early betting line for the 2026 Clemson-LSU game has Clemson as an 11.5-point underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Clemson and LSU play during the fourth quarter Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. (Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider)