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Clemson

Paul Finebaum feels a loss to LSU makes it 'hard to claim you're a big time program' for Clemson

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•07/16/25•

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Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney arm in arm with players for the "Walk of Champions" before the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl with Kentucky at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, Friday, December 29, 2023.

Plenty of storylines are going to come out of Week 1’s premier game, LSU at Clemson. Both teams are expected to contend for a College Football Playoff spot in the season, maybe even a little more. But this one seems to have a little extra juice in it, as both need to emerge with wins.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum looked at both sides, specifically Clemson. It’s another matchup against the SEC for head coach Dabo Swinney and his team has not fared well in recent times. Finebaum believes Clemson will have a tough time claiming to be a “big-time program” if it were to lose.

“I don’t think there’s any question that LSU at Clemson is the game that we’ll be locked into,” Finebaum said Wednesday at SEC Media Days. “There’s so many Shakespearean stories connected to that game. If Clemson loses, it will only be their fourth straight SEC loss. It’s kind of hard to claim you’re a big-time program when you can’t beat the SEC. And conversely, Brian Kelly, we’ve talked about it all week. If he loses that game, the drama intensifies.”

All three of the previous losses took place during the 2024 season. Clemson lost last year’s opener against Georgia in blowout fashion. Questions were asked about the direction back then, too, before steering back in the right direction. But the regular season finale against South Carolina was another SEC loss and, more importantly, a rivalry one.

Clemson then drew Texas in the College Football Playoff after winning the ACC Championship. Three games against the SEC and three losses for the Tigers. Total it up and they were on the losing end by an average of 16 points in those contests.

Finebaum is not shying away from what a poor result might mean for LSU, either. Kelly has never won a season opener since taking over in Baton Rouge. Two losses to Florida State and last year’s USC game are still fresh on everybody’s mind. Going to Clemson might be the toughest of them all, at least on paper.

No matter what, a lot of narratives will come out of Labor Day Weekend. So much attention is given to Week 1 matchups, especially during talking season. SEC Media Days is a perfect example of that. Programs with a lot to prove only get put into the spotlight even more, with Clemson and LSU being the perfect examples.