ESPN Names 'Season-Defining Game' For LSU In 2025

ESPN College Football writers recently picked 'season-defining games' in 2025 for every team in their way-too-early top 25 rankings.

For LSU, writer Chris Low picked the season opener at Clemson as the Tigers make or break game next season:

quote:

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8. LSU Tigers

2024 record: 9-4, 5-3 SEC

Season-defining game: Aug. 30 at Clemson

The winds of restlessness are blowing swiftly in Baton Rouge as Brian Kelly opens his fourth season as coach. The key word here is "opens" because LSU has opened every season under Kelly with a loss, which makes the Aug. 30 opener at Clemson all the more important. LSU needs to make a major push for the playoff this season, and more specifically, probably needs to make the CFP to take the heat off Kelly and get the program headed in the right direction. LSU's past three openers were a 27-20 defeat last season to USC (which lost six games) and two losses to Florida State. The SEC schedule is daunting enough, and although winning at Clemson is never an easy task, LSU has Florida at home two weeks later and then a trip to Ole Miss to close out a challenging September. -- Chris Low

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As for Clemson, who ranks just ahead of LSU at No. 7 on the way-too-early top 25, writer David Hale picked their Nov. 14 matchup at Louisville.

Hale's reasoing for not picking the season opener against LSU is that Clemson was able to survive a beat down by Georgia in the season opener last season and still win the ACC and make the playoff.