Peter Burns Predicts Top-Five College Football Upset in Week 1

Peter Burns Predicts Top-Five College Football Upset in Week 1 originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

On Monday, the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll was announced, and at No. 4 stood the Clemson Tigers, receiving a total of 1,398 points and even four first-place votes.

However, by the end of Week 1, Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney could find themselves taking a considerable dip, depending on their home matchup against the No. 9 LSU Tigers.

Peter Burns Predicts Winner of Clemson-LSU

A lot of eyes will be glued to TV screens for this matchup as not only is each team trying to win its conference, but also make a run at a national championship.

Unfortunately for Clemson, ESPN's Peter Burns, who has been with SEC Network since 2014, predicts the host Tigers will suffer an early upset, claiming, "Love It. LSU going to start the season with a Top 5 road win," via an X post.

Love It.

LSU going to start the season with a Top 5 road win. https://t.co/ajnJErlYAu

— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) August 11, 2025

A loss like this wouldn't destroy Clemson's chances of making the College Football Playoff, but it would be a sour start to a season in which ESPN BET gives them the fifth-best odds (+900) to win the national championship.

Clemson's Past Struggles to Start the Season

If Burns' prediction does become a reality, it would follow a disappointing trend that Clemson and Swinney have been facing for some time.

When it comes to Week 1, the Tigers simply struggle. They have lost three of their last four season openers, falling to the Georgia Bulldogs (10-3) in 2021, the Duke Blue Devils (28-7) in 2023 and once again to the Bulldogs (34-3) in 2024.

That means in the past two seasons with quarterback Cade Klubnik as the team's starter, Clemson has failed to start the year with a win, and going up against a top 10 team like LSU puts them at risk of continuing this trend.

LSU visits Clemson at 7:30 p.m. ET Aug. 30 on ABC.

Related: Nation's No. 1 QB Predicted to Commit to SEC Powerhouse

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.