Who national experts are predicting will win Clemson-LSU championship football game
In a battle of Tigers, Clemson football will take on LSU on Monday in the College Football Playoff championship game.
No. 3 seed Clemson knocked off No. 2 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl to reach New Orleans in pursuit of its third national title with Dabo Swinney and fourth overall. No. 1 seed LSU is led by Heisman winner Joe Burrow and looking for its third championship since 2000.
Experts from across the country weighed in with their picks of who will walk out of the Superdome with a victory:
▪ CBS’s experts were split with Jerry Palm, Chip Patterson, Barrett Sallee and Jack Crosby picking Clemson, while Dennis Dodd, Tom Fornelli, Barton Simmons, Ben Kercheval, Adam Silverstein and Brandon Wise picked LSU. Kercheval and Dodd picked Clemson to cover.
Sallee wrote: “It will be a hell of a matchup between the two top quarterbacks in college football. Burrow, who has 55 touchdown passes and a passer rating of 204.60, has a chance to put together the most prolific season in college football history. Meanwhile, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence hasn’t lost a game through two seasons nor thrown an interception since Oct. 19, 2019.”
▪ Sports Illustrated’s crew leaned a little more toward LSU. Ross Dellenger, Laken Litman, Max Meyer, Michael Shapiro and Lorenzo Arguello went with LSU, while Pat Forde and Molly Geary picked Clemson. Dellinger said no one had figured out how to slow the LSU attack and ultimately “Clemson keeps it close, but the bayou Tigers win their first national title since 2007.” Forde picked a two-point Clemson win with this logic: “I’ve got to see someone beat them to believe it can happen. Clemson has developed the ultimate winner mentality, absolutely believing it cannot and will not lose.”
▪ College Football News’ Pete Fiutak went with LSU 36, Clemson 30, explaining: “It’ll be an entertaining game with both quarterbacks coming up with big performances, but keep going back to this … LSU beat Tua Tagovailoa, Sam Ehlinger, Jake Fromm and Jalen Hurts. Trevor Lawrence might be better than all of them, but not by that much.”
▪ The Advocate (New Orleans and Baton Rouge) LSU beat team of Brooks Kubena, Wilson Alexander, Scott Rabalais and Sheldon Micklesall picked LSU, with Rabalais writing, “Borrowing this prediction from LSU basketball coach Will Wade, himself a Clemson grad. Wade figures even Clemson’s formidable defense can’t keep LSU out of the end zone. Clemson has great players, stats and experience. But LSU has been tempered by the tougher schedule and has the slightly better quarterback.”
▪ Sporting News’ experts also all went for LSU, a group of Zac Al-Khateeb, Vinnie Iyer, Mike DeCourcy and Bill Bender. DeCourcy leaned on the logic of what he saw in the semifinals: “Watching Clemson escape Ohio State in the semifinals convinced me of two things: The Tigers weren’t better than Ohio State, and neither are they as good as LSU. LSU will run through this game with ease. It will not enjoy the level of comfort it did in its semi against Oklahoma. That was a morning walk through a fresh meadow. They’ll at least have to break a sweat here.”
▪ Wayne Staats for NCAA.com wrote: ”Expect another game to come down to the end, though LSU appears to have one edge: Burrow. The way this season has gone, LSU has played (and looked) better and better, no matter the test. Clemson will have to get pressure on Burrow — and it might not happen enough” as he picked a 35-31 LSU win.
▪ Beat writers from The Athletic — Grace Raynor (Clemson) and Brody Miller (LSU) — picked LSU by 35-31 and 38-28 scores, respectively. Brody wrote: “I think these teams are pretty even in the grand scheme of things. LSU’s offense is better than Clemson’s. Clemson’s defense is better than LSU’s, but it all evens out overall. My decision, though, is removed from logic or quantifiable aspects of football. I just see Burrow playing at a level I can’t quite comprehend.”
▪ ESPN’s FPI doesn’t have a score prediction, but gives Clemson a 44.2 percent chance of winning, which is close to a tossup in statistical terms.
What is the latest betting spread for LSU Clemson?
The latest line as of late Saturday was LSU by 5.5.
When is the LSU Clemson game?
Who: Clemson vs. LSU
When: 8 p.m. Monday
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans
TV channel: ESPN
This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 7:45 AM.
