College GameDay heading to narrative-heavy SEC-ACC Week 1 showdown

It may be mid-May, but the college football world is already buzzing for the 2026 season to get underway with headline matchups, rivalries, and new faces in new places. Week 1 gives us a matchup that features all the intrigue.

College GameDay, ESPN's flagship program covering college football, has announced its Week 1 destination, and it is headed to one of the most high-profile games of the weekend, a showdown pitting two squads from the SEC and the ACC against one another.

College GameDay is headed to Baton Rouge for the mega-showdown between the LSU Tigers and the Clemson Tigers. The storylines are abundant in this game, and quite possibly headlined by the juxtaposition of head coaches Dabo Swinney and Lane Kiffin.

Kickoff time for the showdown on Saturday, Sept. 5, remains to be determined, but it figures to be featured in one of the national broadcast windows.

LSU enters this game in a new era under head coach Lane Kiffin, who joined the Tigers after a very public and drawn-out saga that resulted in his split from the Ole Miss Rebels. Clemson aims to rebound after going 7-6 overall in a year well below the program's standard.

LSU and Clemson have met five times, with the Tigers holding a 4-1 advantage. The last meeting was last year when the LSU Tigers went into Death Valley in Week 1 and handed Clemson a 17-10 loss to open up the year.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: LSU to host College GameDay in Week 1 showdown with Clemson