LSU and Clemson are set for a Week 1 showdown, and the battle has already begun off the field as the two programs trade blows over their stadiums that share the same nickname.
Both play in “Death Valley,” but the game will take place on Clemson’s home turf when the two teams square off.
The back-and-forth between the programs intensified earlier this week when LSU head coach Brian Kelly referred to Clemson as “Death Valley Jr.”
“You want great habits when they’re needed, when you’re on the road and you’re playing in ‘Death Valley Jr.,’ not the ‘Death Valley’ … that’s what you need. You need those traits on a day-to-day basis,” Kelly said, per Andrea Adelson of ESPN.
Kelly has been known for his outspoken nature, so perhaps this is his way of getting his team focused for Week 1, which has not gone well with him in charge. The Tigers have lost all three openers under Kelly and have not won their Week 1 game since 2019.
Whatever his reasoning behind the comments was, it did not seem to faze Clemson during its appearance at the 2025 ACC Kickoff on Thursday.
Defensive end T.J. Parker, who led the team in sacks (11) last season, does not seem to be letting that bother him any.
“They can have their opinion,” Parker said. “We’re going to handle all that on Aug. 30.”
This will be the first time Clemson has hosted a season opener since 2019, giving the team even more bragging rights to play for in front of its home crowd after losing three of its last four openers coming into the season.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said his team does not “have to prove” anything, pointing to the fact that Clemson first used the nickname “Death Valley” in 1948, while LSU did not start using it until it defeated Clemson in 1959.
While the debate over the “Death Valley” nickname continues, this should turn out to be an interesting matchup to open the season. Both QBs, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, are tied with Texas QB Arch Manning for the shortest odds (+900) to win the Heisman Trophy, per FanDuel.
Clemson is as experienced as any team in the country, led by Klubnik, who had the third-most passing TDs in 2024 (36), per TeamRankings. The two players he trailed on that list, QBs Cam Ward (39) and Shedeur Sanders (37), are now in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, respectively.
LSU has not made a playoff appearance under Kelly, while Clemson’s first-round defeat to Texas last season was its first CFP appearance since the 2020-21 season. Neither team has won a title since LSU took down Clemson in January 2020.
As the “Death Valley” debate continues, the real test will come when the teams officially take the field on Aug. 30. With Kelly under pressure to lead LSU back to the playoff and Clemson looking to take advantage of its key returning players, the pivotal Week 1 meeting will answer a lot of questions and give the victorious team a quality win to begin the season.
Given both teams’ Week 1 struggles of late, it will also reverse the trend of losing those games in recent years and give the winning team some extra confidence out of the gate.
