LSU Football's Brian Kelly Calls Clemson Tigers Stadium 'Death Valley Junior'

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers are less than 40 days away from taking the field at Clemson for the program's highly-anticipated Week 1 matchup.

After navigating the NCAA Transfer Portal, Spring Camp, SEC Media Days, and summer workouts, the Bayou Bengals are preparing to enter the final phase of the offseason.

Kelly and Co. will report to Baton Rouge next week for Fall Camp with the 2025 season inching closer for the program.

It's no secret the LSU Tigers have struggled in Week 1 matchups after dropping their last handful of season openers.

Now, the program is taking a different approach from a preparation perspective and it starts with "circling" Game 1.

“I felt like I needed to change the way we looked at the opener,” Kelly said at SEC Media Days. “And so that was a specific mindset change of how we would go attack Game 1.

"There will be some other things that I’m not going to get into relative to how we prepare our team. But that was a decision that I needed to make after critically looking at not having success in the first game."

Embracing the challenge of the Clemson Tigers is key with Kelly diving into what it means.

“We needed to do some things differently this year, and that is embrace this opener,” Kelly added. “And embracing it in a manner that this is a big game. It’s a tangible goal for our football team to want to be 1-0.”

But it hasn't stopped Kelly from discussing the matchup.

On Wednesday, while addressing the Baton Rouge Rotary Club, Kelly described Clemson's Memorial Stadium as "Death Valley Junior," according to NBC 33's Brian Holland.

"You need those [championship] traits when you're on the road [at Clemson]; when you're at Death Valley Junior," Kelly said.

Brian Kelly to Baton Rouge Rotary Club:

"You need those (Championship) traits when you're on the road, when you're at Death Valley Junior"#LSU #Clemson @LAFirstNews
— Brian Holland (@BHollandSports) July 23, 2025

Kelly is confident heading into the clash, but others are giving Clemson the edge heading into Week 1.

A look into what a pair of ESPN analysts said regarding the Week 1 matchup at Clemson and their picks:

ESPN's Heather Dinich: Clemson Tigers

“Clemson will beat LSU in the season opener and be a serious contender for the national title,” Heather Dinich said. “I say that because Clemson is loaded. They return 80 percent of their production from last year, more than any team in the FBS.”

“Cade Klubnik will be better,” Dinich said. “He’s got another season under his belt with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. He’s coming off one of the best seasons in school history and has his top three receivers returning.”

SEC Network's Paul Finebaum: Clemson Tigers

“I don’t think there’s any question that LSU at Clemson is the game that we’ll be locked into,” Finebaum said. “There’s so many Shakespearean stories connected to that game. If Clemson loses, it will only be their fourth straight SEC loss.

"It’s kind of hard to claim you’re a big-time program when you can’t beat the SEC. And conversely, Brian Kelly, we’ve talked about it all week. If he loses that game, the drama intensifies.”

“I hate to be obvious here about home field, but that’s about as difficult a home field advantage as there is in college football,” Finebaum said. “I think LSU is really good… but I don’t, right now, believe they can do it Week 1.”

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