Kirk Herbstreit reveals 2025 national championship prediction

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit needed nearly a full week of college football action before delivering an updated prediction for the 2025 College Football Playoff national title matchup.

Herbstreit and play-by-play man (and College GameDay host) Rece Davis used their imaginations in the second half of TCU's blowout of North Carolina in order to fill air time, since the game had ceased to provide entertainment about midway through the third quarter. Herbstreit's dog Peter even put on a headset for a minute! But during the slow-burn end of the Tar Heel disaster, Herbstreit offered up his latest prediction for the national title game in January.

“I think I’m going Penn State and LSU in the championship,” Herbstreit told Davis during the TCU-UNC broadcast. “LSU — again, you’ve got to stay healthy. But they got a salty defense this year.”

He was clearly moved by the Tigers' road victory over a Clemson squad that was ranked No. 4 in the country heading into the season. Meanwhile, LSU was slotted No. 9 but jumped up to all the way to No. 3 after controlling the second half in Death Valley to secure the massive victory. Not only does that win immediately propel LSU into College Football Playoff conversation, but it also provides some breathing room for Brian Kelly.

Heading into the Saturday night contest, LSU had lost a string of season-openers. There shouldn't be a ton of shame in the losing streak, since the Tigers were getting out and squaring off against programs like Clemson or Florida State when many others lay up against a weaker lower-conference foe.

Now, the aggressive scheduling as paid off, as LSU kick-starts their season with an enormous resume win.

Rece Davis sticks with his guns

While Herbstreit got swept off his feet by LSU's Week 1 performance and went with the Tigers to get back to the title game to face Penn State, Rece Davis re-issued the same title prediction he held before the start of the year.

“There’s a lot of things I’d like to change about preseason picks,” Davis told Herbstreit. “I still got Clemson winning the national championship.”

That's certainly a bold prediction after Clemson had their teeth knocked through by the other Tigers on the very first week of the season. Credit Davis, though, because he's going to stand by Dabo Swinney and see it through with his preseason pick despite a rough first audition.